Yuletide

Working or not, as far as I'm concerned, this period in-between Christmas and New Years is still part of the festive period. So, continue to eat, drink and be merry.. no matter what you're doing.

Happy Yuletide all!

(Top image from Lobster and Swan, second: tumblr.)

Christmas Cards

These are the images I'm using on my Christmas cards this year. I either scanned the images or found them on Tumblr.

I usually open them in a word document with the margins widened and two columns set. I line up the picture on the right hand side and usually fit two on one page. Once they're printed I use a guillotine to slice them to the right size and add some glitter and sequins.

Last year I printed my images onto photo paper and cut the pictures out and stuck them onto card, this years method is far neater and easier, although I quite miss the glossy-ness of the photo paper!

Gifts from across the Pacific

Last week, I received a some awesome things in the post from the lovely Luan over at Green Tea and Cupcakes.

This included a copy of Frankie magazine, which I loved! This magazine is incredibly cool and right up my street. It contained lots of insightful and funny articles, great photography and illustrations all along the theme of cool indie and vintage stuff, which I can't get enough of. I don't think there's a magazine like this in England; nothing quite as twee, but there should be!

As well as that, she sent me a paper bunting, and some matching paper flags which I plan to decorate cupcakes with come spring. She also sent me an awesome flowery headband and a mix-tape with a cool cover, which I love!

I will be sending Luan some things in return, make sure you check out Luann's fantastic blog, it's full of cool stuff written by a lovely lady with a great eye.

Christmas Present Wrapping

Over the past few weeks I been getting some of my Christmas shopping underway. So, I spent some time over the weekend doing some wrapping.

I have been reading everywhere how important good wrapping is, so I got some bright pink ribbon for my sisters presents. Last year I used some old song sheets and maps for some of my wrapping and used pretty bows to make them pretty. (One of the felt boot Christmas tree decorations I made last year is also pictured.)

I also like the idea of using newspaper (the bottom image isn't mine,) but I love that sprig of rosemary tied to the present with string. I've also always thought that plain brown pacel paper, tied with white string and an old luggage label would look lovely..

Vintage Christmas

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for lots of my friends (and followers, I'm sure) vintage Christmas treats would be much welcomed and can be picked up incredibly cheaply.

I was flicking through a copy of Homes and Antiques when I realised all of the great options which lie in vintage and charity shops for possible great presents.

What's more, money seems to be tight for everyone this year and so what better time to get back to some thrifty gift giving. Good wrapping can also transform a gift and make it truly special no matter how much it cost.

Here are some ideas from Homes and Antiques:

1.) This pretty letter holder looks great with the red ribbon and the supply of cards and envelopes.


I had never thought of buying old hankies before, but these ones looked great neatly folded and placed inside a box.

Vintage tins are also a great way to go - last year I picked a pretty tin up for £1 and filled it with Lush soaps and bath bombs for my sister's Christmas present. It worked out cheaper than the ready made gift sets from Lush and made for an all-round better present.


I was checking out The Curiosity Shop blog the other day and thought that The Vintage Drawer's vintage Christmas boxes were a great idea. With the right shopping and wrapping you could create a really sweet Christmas gift which would be great fun to open on Christmas morning.
Good additions would certainly be little house-hold bits such as vintage kitchenalia and textiles, and vintage post-cards, song book covers and such like would also be good additions.. Perhaps also, some vintage pearls and broaches..

Sweet Paul Magazine

Check out this awesome digital mag, Sweet Paul.

The photos are beautiful and there are lots of great Chritsmas ideas in there. I especially like the 'Hot Chocolate for two in a jar' idea (pgage 156.)


All photos via Sweet Paul Magazine

Ebaying

Another wardrobe clear-out and making use of ebays free listings weekends...

I have a few good things up on ebay this time around, including a hardly worn grey Jigsaw shirt which is very flattering, and a never worn Barbour lining (which is far too warm to wear around here) and a Topshop cardigan which Olivia Palermo was seen wearing a few months ago...

So check out my ebay things here..

Orchids on a Budget

Actually.. candles on a budget.(I don't actually own this book, but I really want it.. perhaps as a Christmas present..)

Diptyque is the brand of candle I really want, but there's no way I can afford one whilst trying to build my career and working internships, it's just one of those things. But I don't have to be deprived of high quality candles and I have learnt that the best place to buy them is TKMAX.
They sell candles that usually retail at £25 - £30 for about £5, sometimes they are reduced to £4/£3 which is always an extra exciting moment.

Bahoma is my favourite brand, although there are other nice ones. I usually go for the floral or musky scented candles, they're really lovely and I've seen them in John Lewis for about £25.

Second Hand Junkie supplied me with a tip a few years ago now, which is: to only buy the candles which were really expensive in the first place. So now matter how pretty the jar is, only buy the ones which normally retail at over £20 because any less and they simply won't be as good as the more expensive ones.. and in these hard times a girl should get the very best her budget allows.

#feministwishlist

#feministwishlist on twitter - Just some food for thought

I have always been upfront about the fact that I am a feminist. This can get peoples backs up. And by the same token, few things irritate me more than when a fellow female says - 'I am in no way a feminist.' By saying that, you mean that you do not support equality across the sexes.

Being a feminist does not mean you hate men. Being a misandric does. (See, big difference.)

A anecdote on the subject I sometimes relay is the time when I was in a university class about Women in History.. and the lecturer went around the seminar group with one question:
'are you a feminist?'
Few people said 'yes.' And this was a group of people interested in women's history. The lecturer then explained the dictionary definition of a feminist is a person who believes in gender equality.
It does not mention hating men / women / transgender / ANYONE.
Neither does it mention bra burning.

Feminism gets a bad rep. But it's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone should be a feminist and it shouldn't be a big deal, why not treat it as a given?
What do you think?

(Image via http://www.ellenvanengelen.be/)

November

Nothing says Autumn / Winter like a Toast catalogue. I have been feeling under the weather for the past few days but nothing fuels my desire to stay in and rest up like a Toast catalogue does.



(Photos scanned from the latest Toast House and Home catalogue.)

Something Silly

This quote just tickles me for some reason, I hope you like it too.. happy Friday!

Victoria Wood on a date in a crêperie:

'You creep in,
Get a crêpe ,
And creep out.'

(Image via: paris by pearled on Flickr.)

Get off the phone..

Dating in the digital era - what can I say...

(Image by Jean Julian, it's linked!)

I'm not the only one who relates to this - am I? ;)

Macabre Thoughts..

With Halloween only a week away, it's time to start thinking some macabre thoughts.. Here's some things to get you in the mood for Halloween next week..

As a child I used to always dress up as a witch on Halloween and my Mum would always make an effort with a few spooky garden decorations. Nowadays, I like this time of year when crisp daylight contrasts with spooky autumnal nights and bright orange pumpkins look harmless until you carve a sinister face onto them...

Expect more spooky musings throughout the week..





(The photos are from somewhere on tumblr, the last one is of a pumpkin I carved nearly two years ago now (where has the time gone!?) and was taken by my friend, Alice.)

National Baking Week

It's 'National Baking Week' in the UK...
So over at Girls Who Like to Gorge we're hosting a giveaway with 'Baking Mad.' You can an Eric Lanlard cookbook which is pretty cool.

As it says in the GG post, me and Grace went to Eric Lanlard's cafe, 'Cake Boy' last year and his patisserie was amazing. We sat on a big pink sofa and towards the end of the afternoon, Eric popped his head from out of the kitchen and asked if we were enjoying ourselves.. very nice man, and a great cook.

Head over to Girls Who Like to Gorge and follow us to enter ;) xxx

Autumn Interview

I always love doing these interviews - this one marks that glorious time of the year, the smokey, dark nights of Autumn and involves a cool girl who has a very amusing blog.

I met Livvy through her boyfriend at a house (flat) party on Shoreditch High Street. Her tweets are some of my very favourites. Livvy is a student and lives between Essex and Hertfordshire and is a girl very much after my own heart - we share lots of likes including the 60s, cooking and BBC6 music. Below illustrates how she spends her days and what she has planned for the months ahead.. oh, and some great beauty advice too - Find her blog Thoughts of Olivia here and her twitter, here.


1.) How do you start your day?

I normally have to set my alarm about half an hour before I need to get up so I can snooze for a little bit. If I have lectures, I’ll get dressed, eat and do my hair and makeup in about 30 minutes, it doesn’t take me too long in the morning. If it’s the weekend, I’ll mooch around in my pyjamas for a bit, watching the news or a cookery show and eating peanut butter on toast before having a bath. I much prefer baths to showers, if I had the time I’d have one every day. Then I’ll get ready slowly listening to music, usually Radio 6.

2.) What/who inspires you?

My parents are amazing, generous people, not to mention great company. I can turn to them in any situation for a bit of advice, or tough love if I need it. I also love children. I’m training to be a teacher and I find kids a great source of inspiration; they’re so much more enthusiastic than adults are about the majority of things. Primary teaching isn’t for everyone, and people love to tell me their (very often negative) opinions on this, but it gives you the opportunity to be really creative and have a lot of fun which I think is pretty cool.

3.) Who are your style icons?

I generally look to decades past for style inspiration, everything comes back around anyway. I love the way women dressed in the 60’s; really feminine with big eyes and high waists. I’m not really into overtly sexy clothes, and I don’t really like anything too over-styled. I think Jane Birkin and Marianne Faithful were absolutely beautiful; true icons with amazing style. Nowadays, I think Alexa Chung, Chloe Sevingy and Zoe Deschenal always look great. My friend Carly also has a real knack of putting great outfits together on a very small budget, normally gold she’s sourced from charity or second hand shops, something which I’m always impressed by.

4.) How do you unwind?

This really depends which mood I’m in. I love to curl up and watch mindless TV or a really good film with my boyfriend Mitch and a big home cooked dinner. I also love to see my girl friends and catch up over tea and cake, or spending time at my friend Craig’s flat drinking and dancing with friends to great playlists before heading out. Whatever I’m doing, I always like to be with people. I get easily bored in my own company.

5.) The best things about Autumn?

I always think Autumn is a bit of an exciting time, with lots of things to look forward to. I love starting to think about cooking warming Winter food like pies, roasts, soups, casseroles… I could go on. I also love shopping for Christmas presents, pulling out my Winter coats and boots for the first time and planning my birthday celebrations. A lot of my friend’s birthdays also fall in Autumn, which is all the more excuse for a few big nights out.

6.) Your best piece of advice?

My Mum is full of great beauty advice. She used to be a beautician and has always looked after her skin, which has really paid off. So, if I could take one thing from her it would be to always wear plenty of sun cream, and moisturise your décolletage. No lady wants a wrinkly chest. She also always says “Never let the sun set on an argument” which I think is a really nice sentiment to live by. Life’s too short to hold a grudge.
(All photos are via Thoughts of Olivia)