Weird Crush

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Wednesday 28 August 2013


Well this week seems to be ticking along nicely after the lovely long weekend. It'll be friday again before I know it! I've been kicking ass around the house today, clearing and sorting and generally having a good tidy up. I love it when you can look around and see the results of a bit of hard work (if I could move the furniture around too I would, that's one of my favourite things to do, but our house is too small really to have stuff any other way). 

For no particular reason other than just because (ok, I can't lie, I've developed a weird crush on him whilst watching the season two box set!) the pic above is of Adam Driver, who plays Adam Sackler in Girls. I stumbled across this image of him modelling for GAP and I thought, huh, the boy scrubs up well don't you think! ;)


My Weekend And Navy Sweatshirts (And Grey Ones)

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Tuesday 27 August 2013

So did you have a good bank holiday weekend? Ours was fairly low key - I got some down time on Saturday when Mec took Tabby to the cinema for the first time, to see Monsters University, and Sam decided to have a really long nap so I vegged out in my pjs for most of the morning, drank tea, did some bits on my laptop and generally caught up with things. It was lovely. Then on Sunday we had the christening of my friend's little baby boy which was a really sweet occasion. My two didn't really sit still for the church service at all but we made it through without disturbing the service too much and then enjoyed a nice little reception catching up with friends. Monday we did some much needed sorting and cleaning around the house, followed by a family outing to nearby Hatfield House - the gardens are really beautiful and there's a pretty cool adventure playground and a farm for the kids.  All in all a good weekend :)

I also spent a bit of my weekend feeding my new obsession for Autumn - the sweatshirt. I'm going nuts for navy ones, and grey ones (but then I was into grey ones before, having bought my Kin grey sweatshirt a month or so back).  It started when I saw this APC navy sweatshirt via a fav blog of mine Danse La Lune and I got looking on the APC shop site. Simple, comfortable and on trend, I can totally get on board with wearing sweatshirts this season!

An easy, effortless look...
I really like this menswear style too, it reminds me of when I used to steal and wear my brother's tops when I was  teenager... it was the 90s, baggy was cool.





I definitely can't stretch to APC's prices however, so I'm wondering about either of these sweatshirts from Whistles. I love the grey one but it's selling out fast online, need to be quick! With a lightweight khaki parka, skinny jeans and my converse (I'm debating some new trainers but have worn converse for so long now I don't know what else I can pull off!), that's my mum-on-duty uniform taken care of for the next couple of months!


Figuring It Out

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Saturday 24 August 2013


"I have work, then a dinner thing, and then I am busy trying to become who I am"... (Hannah, Girls)

So I did some thinking over the last week like I said I would, and I'm really pleased to say that giving myself a bit of clear head time really worked and I realised a few things. I'm not feeling happy because I'm not doing anything to make myself happy. I wish I read more books, but I'm not making time for it. I think my hair is looking drab but I've not had it cut since March! I know it would do me the world of good if I got some regular exercise, but I don't. Yes, these things are superficial perhaps and certainly not rocketscience (!), but over time a lack of prioritising myself has left me restless, adrift and out of touch with what makes me happy.

We all know that in life you pretty much get out what you put in, but that's often easier said than done, particularly when you're someone a bit like me who can easily find problems or obstacles in the way... I really want to do this but is practically a catchphrase of mine. I've become lazy and I think on some level started waiting for things to happen to me, for me, when actually I should be utilising my free time, getting out there, getting stuck in.

Does anyone else ever think, perhaps subconsciously, that as soon as you discover your true self, everything will be great and fall into place and you'll be this amazing, happy person who is confident and getting on with life? More and more I am realising that we don't just become who we want to be - we have to work at it, learn how to do things we want to be good at, discover what makes us happy and what doesn't...

So it's a new season, a new start. I'm going to try and make a small list each week of things I want to get done, so I can see when things I feel are important to me are slipping to the bottom of the pile.  I also want to try and write a bigger list of a few things I want to achieve, over say, a 3 month period, and see where that gets me. It's been lovely to slow down this summer, but I'm ready to get going again thanks!







Woody Allen On Life

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Wednesday 21 August 2013



I was reading an interview with Woody Allen on the weekend, via Cup of Jo, and given my frame of mind last week, this quote caught my attention...

"It's just an accident that we happen to be on earth, enjoying our silly little moments, distracting ourselves as often as possible so we don't have to really face up to the fact that, you know, we're just temporary people with a very short time in a universe that will eventually be completely gone. And everything that you value, whether it's Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, or whatever, will be gone. The earth will be gone. The sun will be gone. There'll be nothing. The best you can do to get through life is distraction. Love works as a distraction. And work works as a distraction. You can distract yourself a billion different ways. But the key is to distract yourself."

Depressing or inspiring? I kind of like it, reminds me to keep things in perspective. 


Image: source unknown

Autumn Bags

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Monday 19 August 2013

When I spotted this Essex Bag on Madewell.com it was love at first sight - a perfect bag for the new season, beautiful autumnal shades of leather, no fuss, no frills... I love it! After the lightweight bags of summer, like my cotton totes and stripey Baggu bag (which was a brilliant purchase), there's something quite satisfying about moving onto a bag that's a bit chunkier for Autumn.

I also love the new Stevie Double Clutch Bag from Whistles this season - in Black, with a lovely croc effect side pocket, or in Oxblood (below) - the slim leather shoulder strap and gold zip details make for a pretty yet perfectly understated shoulder bag. I think I'd have trouble choosing between the two! 



PS - Madewell.com doesn't ship to the UK at the moment, here's hoping in the near future they will! I'm still holding out for the black version of this amazing Transport Tote Bag which I have in brown, it's such a great all-rounder and goes with everything :)



Smitten Studio Home Tour

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Friday 16 August 2013


I've been following Sarah Sherman Samuel's blog Smitten Studio for a while now, and I'm a big fan of her style.  She's shown snippets of her home on her blog before, but I was really pleased to see this full tour of her LA home here.  She definitely has a real eye for mixing new, vintage and DIY pieces, as well as bringing different textures together such as wood, leather, wools and furs, to create a really natural, bright, open living space. I'd happily live here!  


I love this wall of artwork, prints, and photographs. I have a similar wall of framed prints and photos in my living room but it's still a work in progress!


The white and wood work so well together, and I'm a big fan of sunburst mirrors



Another fabulous sunburst mirror, and I love the deep blue wall colour


A lovely little home office area, again loving the textures - white, wood, metal and glass

You should check out Sarah's new product range A Sunny Afternoon also, amazing tea towels and napkins, amongst other things!

Have a good weekend x

In A Funk

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Thursday 15 August 2013


Today's post is more of a whinge I suppose than a post, so I should probably say now that if you're in a good mood don't let me bring you down, stop reading as I'm in kind of a funk at the moment... I couldn't tell you exactly what's wrong, if I knew that would be fab as I could sort it out and cheer myself up. As it is I feel adrift! I think a little bit of it is mild panic that the summer is coming to an end and although I love autumn (who doesn't right, that back to school feeling, new notebooks, wearing boots and scarves again!) I'm not so keen on winter and it's general gloominess. However I don't think it's all that, it's something else too.

It's like I'm pondering something, except I can't think what it is I'm pondering... I've been lying awake in bed at night wondering in the darkness, and in the day I'm sort of just going about my business with the kids - park, picnics, playdates, etc - but all the while thinking hmmm, what's the deal?! 

On the off chance of some divine inspiration, I googled 'in a funk' (do you ever do this, google stuff to see what answers might lie out there on the internet? I googled what should I do with my life once out of curiosity but alas nothing useful popped up) and I came across this little flow chart... It doesn't exactly hold the answer to the meaning of life, nor does it tell me what's bothering me at the moment. But it does quite simply hint that if something ain't right, then change it.

So, with the weekend approaching, I think I'm going to do a bit of quiet meditation (yes, I know, maybe I'll send the kids swimming with Mec!) on what I might be able to do to change gear a bit. You never know, new season, new start?!


Image via momsrunthistown.com



A Christening Gift

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Monday 12 August 2013

As my friends and I settle into our early thirties, it seems that hen parties and weddings are slowly being replaced with births and christenings.  As someone who had babies a bit earlier than the rest of my circle it's feels nice to find that we're all sort of coming to the same stage now. We've got a christening come up at the end of August and I've been mulling over what to buy the little fella as a christening gift.      I think books are always a winner with children, and parents too, so I've finally decided on a couple of classics from M.Sasek's collection of travel guides for kids. I've gone with This Is London and This Is New York...


First published in the 1950s & 60s, these books have an fabulously retro illustrative style and are a definite must for any modern nursery or playroom. There are lots more in the collection and I'm definitely going to be collecting them for my kids too - we only have This Is New York at the moment.





Images via Amazon UK


An Exciting Project!

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Thursday 8 August 2013

I seem to be collecting projects at the moment... I don't know if I've been spurred on by the success of my recent Ikea stool makeover, or if it's that there seems to be absolutely nothing of interest on the TV this summer (is anyone watching that new Kirsty Allsopp programme Fill Your House For Free? I'm normally a fan of most shows like this, anything property related generally, but this programme actually makes me cringe... I seem to find myself tuning in to see if Kirsty can get any more patronising than she was the week before!). Either way, I'm finding myself up for new challenges and last night, thanks to Ebay, I have purchased myself a very exciting new project indeed. I've been looking for a wooden armchair in need of some TLC for a while, and often keep a check on Ebay to see what's around.  Most listings are usually overpriced or from too far away to make it worthwhile so it's taken a while to find what I'm looking for.  But yesterday I spotted this beauty starting at 99p and available from a village that's a 10 minute drive from here! Perfect... It might not look like much from the photos, but I can already visualise it reupholstered and looking great in our bedroom, with a cushion or two thrown in for good measure of course!



My first thought is Skinny LaMinx for fabric as I love her patterns so much... I had been considering her Orla design for curtains for our lounge, but seeing as it's been 5 months and we're still no closer to getting on with that, I might be tempted to go with this on the chair instead.  Or her Bowls design is fab too, it has a lovely Scandinavian look to it and would look great against the wooden arms once they've been given some attention. I'd definitely choose it in Graphite grey. 

Here are some images that have been inspiring me so far... 


Orla fabric in Graphite


Orla fabric in Solid, Lemon


More Skinny LaMinx fabrics...


Bowls fabric in Graphite, Persimmon, and Lemon Slice

Images via Skinny LaMinx

My Weekend - Southbank

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Tuesday 6 August 2013


On saturday my mum and I took the kids up to London for a sunny afternoon on the Southbank.  Mec was away in Wales mountain bike riding with a friend for the weekend so it seemed like a nice opportunity for some mother and daughter time and a fun adventure for the little ones. We hopped off the train at Blackfriars and walked along the riverside until we reached the London Eye and the park next to it.  We had planned to go on the London Eye but naively we'd forgotten that this was a major tourist attraction on what was indeed a sunny saturday in August (duh!) and so on seeing the queue we quickly changed our plans! Fortunately for us there was a wonderful carousel and a vintage mini car ride for the kids to go on so everyone was happy!


That carousel sure did go! (and no, I hadn't anticipated that I would be straddling an ornate horse later that day when I chose to wear my favourite dress that morning)


Sam taking it easy in his little red car


Right opposite the skate park, which sits underneath the Royal Festival Hall, was a really enormous sandpit for kids (and big kids!) to get stuck into! Of course, there was no holding my two back (yes, Tabby did strip down to her knickers to play in the sand, and yes she was the only child who was half naked!)


Sam teetering on the edge of danger as always!


Out to lunch... my little fella is always so happy :)


I absolutely love this photo - it might even be my most favourite photo of Tabby yet... and it gets better (see below)


Oh dear... I was kind of annoyed with Tabby at this point for daring to sulk when such a huge bowl of ice cream had been placed in front of her, but to be fair to her it was an amazing dessert for a 3 yr old to be presented with and then mummy and grandma come along and scoop a big fat chunk of it out into another bowl for your baby brother and hey presto, your dessert doesn't look nearly as amazing anymore :(


After recovering from the ice cream debacle, Grandma took Tabby down onto a little beach by the Thames for a play! How fabulous is the skyline of London in the background... it was a beautiful day x

Gold Watch

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Friday 2 August 2013





I can't remember the last time I wore a watch, it was probably something like 1996! (And back then I wore a lot of things I'd care to forget.. does anyone else remember those awful FCUK slogan tees? Oh dear!) So given it's been over 15 years or so, it probably goes without saying I'm not really a watch person. I can more than easily get by just using my iphone or looking for the nearest wall clock to keep time.

However, recently I've developed a strong fashion itch for a watch - and a specific watch in particular.  As per usual I knew what I was looking for before I found it, so I've been searching the internet for a while and looking at various blogs, and at last I've spotted my perfect watch.  It's gold, it's chunky, but with a lovely simple watch face that balances out the masculinity of this style. Perfect right?!

Oh sigh, when can I make you mine?.. Only 3 months til my birthday...

Street-style Images: top golestaneh-streetstyle.blogspot.co.uk / middle blog.denimtherapy.com / bottom whowhatwear.com
Michael Kors watch Image: luxurywatchboutique.com




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