The Ideal Christmas Home Show

A couple of weeks back, I was offered the opportunity to visit the Ideal Home Christmas Show with Currys PC World, and I jumped at the chance. I love any excuse to get festive, and this was no exception!

I headed down to Kensington Olympia on Thanksgiving morning, where I met the wonderful Ghenet who had agreed to join me for a morning of festivities. 

We arrived to the whole Christmas shebang, snow canons, christmas trees, even Father Christmas himself, complete with sleigh and reindeer waiting outside to greet everyone. Once we got inside and realised just how big the show was, we decided to start by caffeinating, before tackling the stalls.

Coffee's in hand we realised we didn't stand a chance of seeing everything, so we decided to stick with the food and Christmas decoration sections. There's so much more to be seen though, they have everything from unique lighting solutions, to double glazing specialists, to teeth whitening stands. I'd definitely recommend doing a little research before going, to figure out what you'd really like to see!

For us that meant hitting up the important things, like candles and homewares! I was particularly enamoured with the Sass and Belle outlet, where I picked up a few Christmas gifts at crazy great prices, and I loved the little stalls selling bespoke Christmas tree ornaments too, it made me excited for when I have a big house to decorate!

It's not all shopping either, we caught a Christmas cake decorating show, and were treated to a free massage too! It's definitely a great way to spend a whole day out, providing you're prepared for a lot of walking! 

It definitely left the both of us in a seriously festive mood! I got so many great gift ideas too!

Thanks again to Curry's for inviting us along, we had the best time!

#MyLittleWWWorkshop

 A little over a week ago I ventured to Angel for a morning of photography, chatting and delicious baked goods at the #MyLittleWWWorkshop, hosted by Carrie and My Little Box.

Whilst it's fair to say I have some photography knowledge (I haven't been prancing around with my camera on auto for all these years) it's also fair to say that most of what I knew was self taught through trial and error, I didn't actually know what I was doing, I was just fiddling until I found the right settings. I'd been wanting to improve my photography for a while now, so this workshop popped up at just the right time.

After talking us through camera settings in a way that actually made sense to a technophobe like me, we got snapping with our very own My Little Boxes. Carrie pottered about helping us all out, offering tips and tricks, and chatting about everything from blogging to weddings to food. We snacked on Krispy Kremes and tasty cupcakes, and took cliched blogger photos of macarons!

 Since the Great British weather was not on our side, our plans to shoot outfits were scuppered, so we settled for another round of tea, and learning all about Carrie's editing tips and techniques! It was so handy to hear her tips, and it was so much fun to sit around with a group of lovely likeminded girls!

Hopefully you'll notice a (positive) change in my photos from here on out! Big thanks to Carrie and My Little Box for a wonderful morning!

Market Sunday's

When I moved to London I thought I would be browsing markets every Sunday like a local (because I thought that was what everyone in London did). The reality is that most Sunday's I don't even see morning, because I spend it burrowed under my duvet with my eyes tightly shut until the clock strikes twelve. Because I firmly believe Sunday should be spent indulging in your favourite past time - and mine is sleep.

In fact, until last weekend, the last time I visited a market was exactly a year ago when I finally ventured to Columbia Road Flower Market (thanks Timehop for giving me a kick up the butt), so I decided it was time to rectify that.

After seeing pictures of the Marylebone Farmers Market on the wonderful Katy's Instagram, it had snuck onto my London To Do List, and with a couple of Sunday errands to run last weekend, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to cross it off.

The market is tucked away behind the main high street, just a few minutes walk from Marylebone and Baker Street Tube. It's set up on a Sunday Morning between ten and two in the Cramer Car Park, and inside you'll find everything from fruit to soups to flowers.

 I loved browsing the the aisles, admiring big cakes, giant carrots and colourful squashes. Con and I were eyeing up a few homemade soups, but settled on a big bag of apples and pears, some fresh apple and elderflower juice, and lemon drizzle cake for a little Sunday afternoon treat! I'd like to go back one morning and pick up all the ingredients for a big Sunday roast!

We were lucky enough to be graced with beautiful blue skies and sunshine that warmed the skin, pretty sure it's the last time I'll be venturing out of the house without tights for a while! It definitely didn't feel like October!

WHAT I WORE

TOP - ZARA // SKIRT - HOLLISTER // BOOTS - PRIMARK // SCARF - TOPSHOP

Escape To The Countryside

After the debacle of stress that was last week, I desperately needed to getaway by Friday. My parents are avid campers and whilst camping is not exactly my cup of tea, a weekend in the forest sounded like the perfect antidote.

So I decided to gatecrash their weekend at Blenheim Palace (and dragged Con along for the ride too). The decision was made a lot easier by the fact that my parents don't do tents on the ground, but rather park up in their luxury campervan with necessities like double glazing, central heating and a fridge bigger than the one in my flat, fully stocked with wine. 

After a relaxing evening on a campsite with no phone signal, much less wifi, and a good night's sleep, we started the day with a giant fry up cooked on the barbecue (delicious) before heading into the palace. We stayed at the Bladon Chains Caravan Club Site, which is located right in the grounds of the palace, so it was a short hop skip and a jump over to the palace.

 We decided not to actually tour the inside of the palace (my parents had done it previously and said it drags on a little, as you have to stick with a group not wander at your own pace), but rather stick with admiring the grounds, and getting some fresh air. 

The palace itself is stunning, set in giant grounds that seem to roll on and on forever. We were lucky to catch it just as the leaves started to turn, which I think makes it all the more beautiful. 

 We kinda wished we had packed a picnic after spotting a handful of spots perfect for a midafternoon graze! Particularly the view of the palace across the lake from the embankment was perfect, especially when the sun came out from behind a cloud for a half hour just as we parked our butts down for a little rest. I coulda quite easily fallen asleep lying on the grass there in the sunshine, it was blissful. 

Considering my outfit was hastily pulled together from things found in the back of my wardrobe at my parents, boots from the back of my car, and a pair of jeans I remembered to ask Con to bring from the flat, it was perfect for the day. Comfy, cosy and autumnal too. I'm pretty much living in my Zara jeans these days, I love that they're distressed but not too distressed if that makes any sense! And these boots are a real love of mine, they're comfy and cute too. I swear by the boots from Tesco, I buy a pair every year and they always prove to be comfy, inexpensive and they last forever too. I love these ones they feel so autumnal!

CARDIGAN - PRIMARK // SCARF - ZARA // JEANS - ZARA // BOOTS - F&F 

 When we reached the far side of the grounds we decided to have a quick meander around Woodstock, which sits on the edge of Blenheims grounds. Mostly for bread and wine, but also to soak up the small village atmosphere. I loved the quaint streets, ivy coated houses and cobbled streets.

We headed back into the palace to visit the Butterfly Gardens, and hit up the gift shop too. Turns out I don't much like butterflies when they're flying around my head, and they're kinda like giant moths. Gross. We got out of there pretty sharpish and headed back to the campsite.

 One last cider and a round of nachos later and it was time to head back, but a 24 hour digital detox and a wealth of fresh air did the world of good. I might not have felt back to normal, but it gave me a push in the right direction! 

I want to head back to Blenheim again soon with a picnic but maybe I'll need to wait until Summer rolls around again!