All Things Homeware!

Yep, you guessed it.... it's all about HOMEWARE!  Perry and I are currently renovating our new flat that we purchased a few months ago, so at the moment we are living in a temporary accommodation.  However, this has been a real eye opener and has given us a trial to living in our own house and how our interior would look like.  In this post I am going to be showing you all of my favourite go-to styling tips and tricks that I live by when styling my flat.  So without further a do.... let's start!

One of my favourite hobbies when I have a day off from work, is to bake!  I absolutely LOVE baking!!  It gives me a feeling of sheer satisfaction when a tray of freshly baked muffins that I have baked come out of the oven looking and tasting AMAZING!!  I have so many baking books... but if I had to choose two favourite, they would be 'The Hummingbird Bakery Book' and 'Tanya Bakes'.  I bought this big Mason bowl and wooden spoon from my local home shop and I think it is the perfect addition to my kitchen.  It not only helps me with my baking, but it also looks really stylish too.

My husband and I are real foodies and we both love to cook healthy dishes with fresh ingredients, so having a section of the kitchen where we can store our oils, spices and salt/pepper and knives was essential.  I like to have these things together in one place in the kitchen, because it makes cooking so much easier.  A lot of our accessories for the kitchen are in copper, because if you didn't know already I'm obsessed with all things COPPER!!!  So I picked up these gorgeous Salt and Pepper shakers from Next and they have been so incredibly useful as well as making my kitchen look so stylish!  Also I purchased these glass mason jugs to hold olive oil and vegetable oil... In the olive oil, I put a sprig of fresh Rosemary to infuse it and also make it look pretty.  Lastly I put a book stand with my new cook book 'Ready Steady Glow' by Madeleine Shaw to entice me with new and exciting recipes to try out.

A dressing table has always been one of the things that I have wanted for so many years.  I have imagined having a vintage styled unit with a bid mirror and multiple drawers.  Luckily I found this beauty in one of my local vintage stores and instantly fell in love!  It is the perfect size for the bedroom and I love the colour of it.  It was painted using a chalk based paint from the Annie Sloan range and it creates a more subtle look for the room.  I use the drawers to store my ever growing nail varnish collection, makeup collection, sunglasses collection and anything else that I wish to store.  I also use the mirror to hang my long necklaces from it and I have displayed some personal photos and ornaments on it.  It's so great to have somewhere where I can do my hair/makeup rather than using a hallway mirror. 

Is it just me or does a fresh bouquet of Roses always bring happiness to a room?  These beautiful ones were picked up from my local florist, Pipers Florist and every time I look at them they make me smile.  The glass vase was given to my Husband and I on our wedding day and I love having it in the house as it reminds us of our special day!

How cute is this little gold terrarium??  I bought this a while ago because I wanted to inject a bit of warmth to the lounge and by putting a candle inside, it works really well near the fireplace and when lit it looks so magical!  

Another thing I have become obsessed with is styling shelves.  I recently bought a big shelving unit from Ikea and it allowed me to experiment with styling ornaments and books etc.  My favourite way to style is by mixing my favourite fashion books with plants/ornaments.  It gives the shelf height and it allows you to change the books that you want to display. 

I have never really owned a proper jewellery stand.  My jewellery has either been hanging off a hook or tangled up in one of my drawers.  So when I looked at Oliver bonas and their amazing collection of jewellery stands I knew that I needed to snap one up right away!  Unfortunately the one that I bought has now been discontinued, however here are some similar ones that they are currently stocking.  I love their collection because they manage to incorporate different textures and materials... my one is made up of a brass stand with a marble base.  The different levels, allow me to merchandise bracelets, short necklaces and longer necklaces all at once!    

Since I can remember, I have always had a love for cushions of all shapes and sizes.  I constantly find myself in interior shops drooling over the latest cushions with patterns, textures and colours.  My gorgeous big sister very kindly bought these two HUGE cushions for us from Next and they are the most sunning cushions ever!  They are silver with a Morrocan styled pattern running through in a contrasting grey shade.  I always find that Next do the best cushions so check out their website.    

So now all we need to do is finish off the renovations and then my husband and I will be able to move our furniture into our first home... how exciting?!!!  I will be keeping you all posted when we are finally in and give you all a house tour... but until then, I hope you are all having a great week!

M x

Exploring the Thames!

My parents recently bought a boat in St Margarets, because they wanted to have something to allow them to escape and travel.  I thought it was a wonderful idea, because it's like a second home for whenever we want to explore the Thames in all its glory!  So the other week, I went to visit their boat with Perry and my parents to check out the area and have a weekend adventure!

The first stop of the day was a good proper roast lunch and what better way to have that then, right on the Thames edge.  We stopped by The White Swan and it was the most beautiful day to visit.  It was a gorgeous white building that was dressed with various wild flowers. The entrance to the pub is up two flights of stairs, because when the tide comes in... all of the area becomes flooded by over a metre high!

We decided to eat our lunch outside in the garden area and it was so special.  We ate the most delicious belly of pork with crackling, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy.  It was so lovely to enjoy a family lunch together by the river and have the sun shining down on us!  

After our lunch we went for a long walk along the Twickenham river and embraced the wonders that it had to offer.  There were so many beautiful little boats bobbing around and the swans were all dancing in the water.  It was such a pretty setting!

How pretty are these gorgeous wild flowers?  There were hundreds of these all around near the river and they made the area really peaceful and stunning to admire.  It was the most perfect scenery for reading a book or walking your dog,,, the latter was what I did, as my family dog was with us and I enjoyed parading her along the river bank.

On all of the benches in the area, they had numerous quotes from famous literature on them.  My favourite quote was "Act well your part; There all the honour lies, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind."  It is all about how honor and shame is reflected on the way you act, rather than on your social condition.  An example of this would be when you have a task to do.  Instead of making other people do it for you, you take it upon yourself to make an honourable effort in completing it!

Whilst on our walk, we unexpectedly came across the statues of female figures, which adorn a cascade and pool in the riverside portion of the York House Gardens.  

The sculptures are carved in the renowned Italian white marble of Carrara.  They represent the Oceanides, or sea nymphs of Greek Mythology, and although we cannot be sure of the name of the sculptor, it is believed that they came from a Roman studio in the nineteenth century.  

Unfortunately my pictures do not do the statues any justice... I wish you could have seen what I did. I cannot put into words how in awe I was when I saw them up close!  The whole picture that you see of each individual sea nymph, when you take a step back and allow it to sink in, is incredible as you can admire the precision and detail of each statue, especially as each one has a different emotion on it's face!  Given the fact that they are so old and hand carved, they really are quite breathtaking!

It has been such a wonderful weekend, exploring the Thames in all it's glory.  And I have thoroughly enjoyed Twickenham's company and all that it has to offer!  I'm so excited to return here in the Summer! 

Have you travelled to anywhere nice recently?

M x

Flat Iron Review!

The other day Perry and I popped into one of the highly anticipated restaurants in London, "Flat Iron".   It is the type of restaurant where it is first come first serve, because they don't take any reservations and that is one of the reasons why they are so popular.   Every time I walked past it, there was always a huge queue of people waiting patiently for a seat at their table.  That is always a good sign of a great restaurant and we just couldn't wait to get stuck into their food!

When we were seated, we were given a big mug of free salted popcorn, which was really cool and totally unexpected!  It was really comforting to be given a light snack before our main course arrived.

I noticed that the cutlery was so unique, as instead of being given a knife to cut up my steak with, I was given a miniature Chopper instead.  It was so cute as normally choppers are one of the most popular knives for Butchers and so it was really sweet to see mini versions for us to eat with.  

For the main event, we both chose the infamous 'Flat Iron steak' with 'Dripping Cooked Chips', Creamed Spinach' and 'Today's Market Greens'.  It was cooked to absolute perfection and was so tender that it literally melted into my mouth.  All of the side dishes that I chose, matched perfectly with the steak and the whole dish was incredible!  One of the best steaks I've ever had!  I asked my husband, Perry what a 'Flat Iron' steak was and this is what he had to say...

"A flat iron is made from the muscle ,which is taken from the shoulder of the cow and is called the feather blade.  When butchers use precision and seam the gristle properly, it is therefore made into a Flat Iron."  Perry Bartlett, The Ginger Pig

Overall, we had such an amazing time at 'Flat Iron', because the food was insane, the vibe of the restaurant was so casual and laid back and the service was awesome!  Did I forget to mention that after our meal, we were given a casino chip that allowed us to go over to the ice cream station and be greeted with a free homemade chocolate ice cream cone to go... how many restaurants can you name who do that?  I would definitely recommend to you all that if you are in Covent Garden, go and check out 'Flat Iron' and taste their amazing dishes!

M x

A Honeymoon to remember!

The morning after our wedding consisted of us catching our very own taxi (actually it was my Dad as he insisted that he would drive us to the airport) at 4am in the morning to catch the incredibly early flight at 7am.  I must point out that our wedding was on a Saturday and it didn't finish until 1:30am and so catching such an early flight on a Sunday morning, must have made us the two most sleepiest zombies around!  But it was all worth it... for we had booked off 3 weeks and we couldn't wait for our holiday to begin!

We stayed at the incredible "Delphin Imperial" five star resort in Antalya, Turkey.  The one word I could use to describe this resort was 'breathtaking' and we were so lucky to be spending our honeymoon in somewhere so beautiful as this!

Once we checked into our hotel room, we were welcomed by red satin sheets and swans made out of towels.  It was so romantic and unexpected.... it was such a nice touch!  As well as the bedding, we were also welcomed by breakfast in bed which in Turkey is more like a breakfast feast!  It was so delicious and included eggs, toast, bread, jams and nutella, meats, salad, smoothies, fresh juice and tea.  It was so delicious and I couldn't wait to experience the rest of the Turkish food that this resort had to offer.

At the resort they actually had their very own private beach and it was so wonderful to be right by the sea and have nothing but white sand beneath my feet!  

I wanted to make our mark on the resort and so I wrote our initials in the sand... I just couldn't resist! 

Chilling by the pool was definitely my favourite part of the holiday.  To be able to sit back, relax and bask in the glorious hot sun was such a luxury.  It was safe to say that we both didn't want to go back home!

For our first dinner, I wanted to wear a bright colour outfit and so I opted for the colour coral and teamed it with this gorgeous skirt that I bought from Jigsaw which has so many different shades in it.  Finally I teamed it with high wedges and a coral flower in my hair.  Turkey was so hot (38 degrees Celsius most nights) that I simply washed my hair and let it dry naturally, which is why it looks so dark.   

Dinner arrived and it was an incredibly buffet where you can literally choose from over 150 dishes and come back for seconds and thirds (not that i did that at all....)  Our plates were both so packed up with food that you couldn't see the plates at all.  But oh my was the food delicious!  

For my dessert I chose something a little less rich and so I went for melon and a homemade chocolate mousse.  It was so good that I had it practically every night!  Perry on the other hand went for something a little more naughty.... two very rich and chocolate based cakes/puddings.... he may have even gone back for seconds!

Our last meal was a traditional Turkish buffet and our table was dressed with the Turkish flag.  It was a little bit emotional because we didn't want the endless supply of delicious food to end! 

We had such an amazing seven days and it was a holiday that we will both cherish for many years to come!  One day I hope that we will be able to return to Delphin Imperial one last time to reminisce. 

M x

The day I married my best friend!

On Saturday the 25th June.... I married my best friend and soul mate!  I know, it sounds super cheesy... but hear me out, as this day was by far the BEST DAY of my entire life and I wanted to share it with you all.

The first thing that was top of the list was to get beautified... and boy did I need it!  At 8am, it was straight off to my local beauty salon, "Beauty Box"to get my hair and makeup done.  I opted for a smokey eye with a nude lip colour - I wanted to look as natural as possible, because I have always believed that you should always look like yourself on your wedding day!  That is why I chose to have my hair curled with rollers and worn down so that I looked as true to my normal style as possible.

After my makeup was complete, I couldn't resist and just had to take a selfie or two with my big sister and beautiful Chief Bridesmaid.  We both were so impressed with our hair and makeup that it just made us feel like a million dollars.  I just couldn't wait to get married!

The service was held in my local Church and it couldn't have been more beautiful!  I can't tell you how incredible it was to have all of our family and close friends all in one place... It was such a special moment!

After the ceremony, Perry and I were driven in a vintage Rolls Royce to our Wedding Breakfast, which was at the most stunning venue called "The Coltsford Mill".  It was decorated with gorgeous ivory bunting and lights, courtesy of my dear Mum who kindly offered to help dress the venue up for our big day.  Below are some images of the room and the decorations that we had.

Once we were seated at our head table, we both were so happy that we couldn't stop smiling.  It felt right to capture a picture of our new rings that we will wear forever till the end.  Perry has a classic Gold ring and I went for the white gold version to match my engagement ring.

And now I present to you.... Mr and Mrs Bartlett!  I cheekily got my phone out and took these cute little selfies!

Without the love and support of our families, I really don't know how Perry and I would have had such a dream wedding... so we both feel incredibly grateful for everything and love them very much!

The food that we chose for the wedding breakfast was so delicious, that even now (two months later), we are still thinking about it!  For the main course we had Burgundy chicken, with seasonal vegetables, dauphinois potatoes, parsnip puree and gravy.  It was the most perfect, light roast dinner for a summer evening.  It was so nice to see that all our guests had cleaned their plates entirely and were waiting for the pudding to arrive!

For our last and final dish (the dessert), we went old school and chose the infamous "Sticky Toffee Pudding" with ice cream and extra toffee sauce.  It is one of our favourites and was an absolute crowd pleaser with our guests!

This was the only day where I actually felt like an actual princess and Perry looked so handsome... just like a Prince!  Here are some outfit shots for you to see.  The day couldn't have been any better!

Our first dance was so memorable and the song was so fitting.  We danced to Shania Twain's "From This Moment"... which is such a romantic and emotional song.  Even though everyone was watching us, it really felt like we were the only ones in the room.  We chatted whilst we danced and the whole thing was so magical!

Well what can I say?  I had the best day of my life with my best friend and got to celebrate and enjoy it with the people that I love... Even two months on, I'm still uncontrollably smiling.  I cannot wait to see where our adventure takes us next....

So from one extremely happy girl...  I will sign off now, but I hope that you are all having a great day and I will speak to you soon!

M x