this little house

AD | Finding the Perfect Fitting Jeans with M&S

There's nothing quite like a trend coming in that doesn't suit your figure now is there? When this happens, however much you like the trend you pray it will be a fleeting one. That one day you'll look back and thank your lucky stars you didn't suit that particular trend because you've saved yourself a whole lot of cringe photos.

Unfortunately this hasn't been the case for this particular trend I'm talking about, in fact I'd say it's turned into a staple rather than a trend in most women's (and men's) wardrobes today, and has been for years, showing no signs of going anytime soon. It's a trend I personally love, but I feel does nothing for my figure.

I'm talking about the skinny jean. Which I actually googled and it's latest revival in mainstream fashion was all the way back in 2005. 2005! That's 14 years I've longed to be able to feel and look good in a pair of skinny jeans.

You see, as I tell my friend, Sam. I have no kneecaps. She finds this hilarious, as of course I have kneecaps, my problem is they're hidden under a pound of flesh. I was at the back of the line the day bony kneecaps where handed out, to add insult to injury my knees point in the way too. It's laughable really.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've been left disappointed in a changing room trying to squeeze my legs into skinny jeans, and for a while there skinny jeans dominated the market. Rows and rows of suction tight denim everywhere. Now someone else will tell me I'm being silly, and that of course I can wear skinny jeans, which I know I can if I really wanted to wear them, but it's more about how I feel in them. I just don't feel comfortable, and isn't that meant to be the whole point of good pair of jeans?! To feel comfortable.

Therefore you can imagine my delight these past few years as other jean styles have made a revival on the high street. Hello, straight leg, my denim friend! However, even with the return of my denim friend I ironically still find shopping for jeans no easier, the fit always being the main problem.

So when M&S contacted me about their new Best Ever Fit denim range, I was instantly intrigued and hoping that within that range they would have a straight leg option, and they do! They've brought out three styles:

The Ivy - Skinny jean
The Lily - Slim Fit
The Sienna - Straight leg

I love that they have brought out these particular styles as I feel it makes denim accessible to all different shapes and sizes. Especially for the neurotic I don't have kneecaps people ;). The first thing I noticed (and a huge tick from me) is that all the Best Ever Fit range are made with responsibly sourced cotton. I find this usually drives up the price of a garment but the price point for this range is amazing starting at £19.50.

Now onto the fit...

M&S have brought out this range because they realise most women struggle when it comes to shopping for jeans, the fit being the main problem. They wanted to create a range that are super flattering , no-gape waists, in a variety of washes. Their aim being once you know your preferred style you could confidently pick up that style in any colour, in any store, knowing it will fit.

I chose the Sienna in Dark Indigo as a lot of the denim I own is lighter, so this is a most welcomed addition to my wardrobe. They slipped on super easy and due to a slight stretch to them they fitted perfectly around my waist, bum and hips. One of the main reasons I will forever love denim is when you find a good fitting pair of jeans they can hide a multitude of sins. Bum can look firmer, tummy can look flatter, and they can hold everything firmly in its place. The Sienna fit ticked all those boxes for me.

Did I actually just post a picture of my bum on my blog? Yes I did. All in the name of research for a good fitting pair of jeans.

After wearing them for the day I think the magic in these jeans is that they've got just the right amount of stretch to them. It's enough to give a good fit, but not too much that they become baggy as the day goes on. Also I'm happy to report that after washing them they didn't become stiff like cardboard and feel two sizes smaller for the first half an hour of wearing them again. We've all been there with denim, right? When washing them ruins what felt like the perfect fitting jeans. Overall I'm really impressed and I'm now eyeing up the other washes in the range.

* For full transparency this post has been marked AD and is a PAID partnership with M&S. As always all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, 27 March 2019 Comments: 1

My mum and I always talk about how we need to get away more together, but with both of us leading such busy lives it remains just that, talk.

So you can imagine my sheer delight when Joules invited us both to a special Mother's Day trip to Watergate Bay Hotel, in Cornwall. I immediately rang my mum and told her WE ARE GOING.

This isn't the easiest for my mum as she helps take care of my nan who has vascular dementia, but I knew she needed this trip, the chance to relax, and I also knew we needed this time together. So with family and friends stepping in to help with my nan and the boys we were finally getting our little trip away together.

And what a trip it was...

Having never been to Cornwall I was excited to see this beautiful part of the country for myself, and I was equally excited to be staying at Joules partner hotel, Watergate Bay. I've heard so many wonderful things about this hotel, especially the views, and for me you can't beat a hotel with a good view.

As soon as you walk into Watergate Bay it has every mark of a four star hotel but yet I love how relaxed and chilled it feels. It's not pretentious in the slightest, it's all warm smiles, hellos and instantly making you feel at home. The decor is stunning too, think luxury beach house vibes and you're there. From the offset it's very clear why Joules and Watergate Bay make such good partners, they very much share the same ethos, laid back luxury with gorgeous attention to detail.

The wonderful Joules team were also there to greet us on arrival too and introduce us to the other guests on the trip, some of which I've been friends with online for years now, Laura-Ann, Cara, Sally and Sarah-Rose. I knew instantly this was going to be a good group and I was so looking forward to getting to know these ladies more in the flesh.

Once we were checked in it was time to go up to our room to unpack and quickly freshen up before lunch.

Our room was beautiful, made even more so by Joules. Prior to our trip Joules asked us to choose some of our favourite pieces from their Spring/Summer Collection, all of which were waiting for us in our room along with other gorgeous goodies. My mum and I felt entirely spoilt and I'm pretty sure we let out a squeal when we realised our room had a sea view.

After tucking into a lovely lunch in the bar area (I highly recommend you try the Portobello Mushroom Chips, yep that's right mushroom chips, they are a game changer!) we all had a few hours to relax. Turns out the start of relaxing looks like this....

This is what I like to call embracing the British weather! What a giggle we had as the wind howled and the rain battered down. No sun on your next beach holiday? I say grab your wellies, your raincoat, oh and a costume, definitely a costume, and get yourself on that beach!

Soaked through and laughing it was time to warm up inside. I thought weather like this could totally put a damper on a trip away to Cornwall, but Watergate Bay is the perfect hotel to take shelter from the storm. With it's amazing views from the pool and spa area, you can relax and watch the storm roll in.

One of the absolute highlights of this trip was watching my mum relax. The words 'my mum' and 'relax' don't tend to go in the same sentence together. She's always so busy running around doing so much for others, myself included, that I can't help but worry about her. It was so good to see her relax and I felt like I could see the weight visibly lift from her shoulders.

After such a relaxing afternoon it was time to get ready for Gin Tasting with Warner Edwards Gin. Now I love a good gin and tonic but it's my mum who really knows her stuff, so I knew she would love this.

The class was kindly hosted by Ross who gave an insight into how Warner Edwards Gin first started. A family farm that wanted to go back to the roots and create fine quality gin, and that they did. We got to sample various flavours in their beautiful distinct coloured bottles and I discovered the wonder of their Honeybee gin, who knew?!

We finished the evening with a dinner in Zacrys Restaurant at the hotel, an end to what was an absolutely cracking first day.

The next morning after breakfast we were treated to a Flower Pressing Class by the lovely Ellie, from The Flower Press Shop. She showed us the simple steps to quickly pressing flowers that can be displayed in glass frames to make your very own decorative floral wall art. I still can't get over how easy this was and I definitely plan to make more.

All you need:

An Iron (turned on to it's max temperature)
Two pieces of greaseproof paper
Flowers of your choice
Glass frame

Once you've selected the flowers you want for your frame and cut to the desired length, you place them between the two pieces of greaseproof paper, and then place the hot iron on the top sheet of the greaseproof paper and firmly press down. The thicker the flower the longer it will take to press, the ones I chose only took a few minutes. Also if you choose flowers that tend to hold a lot of moisture you'll need to allow drying time, as the heat from the iron draws out the water in the flower.

Once the pressed flowers have cooled down you can pop them into your frame in whatever figuration you like. I love how simple and effective this technique is, and I also love that I now have a wall hanging that will remind me of my time here in Cornwall with my mum.

As we pressed flowers the worst of the weather was passing which was perfect timing for our trip to Padstow in the afternoon. I was so excited to see more of Cornwall and Padstow did not disappoint, with it's harbour and winding streets of colourful houses, this place is postcard pretty.

Cornwall certainly isn't lacking when it comes to good food, and famous chefs for that matter, and we were lucky enough to have lunch at Paul Ainsworth's restaurant, Rojanos. I would highly recommend, especially the seafood. My mum and I devoured the most delicious prawns. Good food, good wine, good chat, my idea of a perfect lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel as both my mum and I had full body massage booked, beyond spoilt! We even braved the hot tub outside afterwards which was interesting getting in and out of in the freezing cold, but totally worth it for the most beautiful view.

For our final evening Joules had organised dinner at Jamie Oliver's award winning restaurant Fifteen, which is just a stones throw away from the hotel. We tried the tasting menu which is a culinary experience in itself, with it's open plan kitchen you see the all the hard work and love that goes into every plate before it is stylishly brought to the table. It was a delight from start to finish!

It was such an amazing way to finish up what had been a thoroughly amazing trip. Amazing food, amazing company. It's moments like this that make me feel very lucky to do the job I do, and to also have my mum be a part of it too.

I want to say a HUGE thank you Joules and the whole team for giving my mum and I the most amazing experience with this trip. We won't actually get to spend Mother's Day together this year so this has been an incredible treat!

Throughout this post you can see some of our favourite picks from Joules this season:

My Mum:

| Jeanne Print Linen Shirt | Hesford French Navy Chinos | Locksley Tassel Loafer with Leopard Print | Raincoat with Sherpa Fleece Lining | Striped Wellies |

Myself:

| Jeanne Plain Linen Shirt | Drew Culottes | Lexington Tan Suede Slipper | Raincoat with Sherpa Fleece Lining | Floral Wellies | Modena Round bag |

If you're looking for inspiration this Mother's Day for a special woman in your life, Joules have lots of lovely ideas HERE too.

* For full transparency, this post has been marked AD and was an unpaid press trip. I had full control over what I share and as always all opinions are my own.

Wednesday, 20 March 2019 Comments: 2

Well here she is, our spare room. The room I have procrastinated most about in our home. It's taken me nearly three years to finally make a decision on how I wanted this room to look. I've come to realise that unless I have a clear image in my mind of what I want from the start, I find it really hard to move forward with a room. A bit like writer's block but for interiors, and with not knowing what I wanted to do with the room, and with no great urgency to make a decision, it's sat looking a sorry sight all this time. Not exactly welcoming for our guests.

When Sanderson Paint, asked me if I'd like to collaborate and decorate a room in my house with one of their paint colours I literally jumped at the chance. Not only because they're such an iconic brand, that goes without saying, but because quite frankly, this was just the kick up the butt I needed to stop all the procrastinating and finally make a decision with our spare room. A room that had become a dumping ground rather than a lovely room for our guests to stay in.

But before I would choose a colour from the launch of their fifty new shades, I was invited down to London for a Colour Workshop with the wonderful, Sophie Robinson. I knew this was going to massively help with my lack of direction for our spare room, which I'd in fact made recently worse by painting it a colour I thought I'd love but in reality just felt was too much for the space. A wrong colour choice always knocks your confidence when decorating a room, so the workshop couldn't have been better timed. I arrived at the workshop with not a clue about what look or colour I wanted now for our spare room after my recent colour disaster, inspiration was indeed needed.

BEFORE

It was all just a little bit too pink for my liking.

The workshop started with why we're attracted to the colours and interior styles that we already have in our homes. By better understanding our own style it makes it much easier when it comes to interior choices going forward, and Sophie couldn't have been more right. Sophie broke down our interior styles into seasons:

Spring - bright, welcoming, creative, modern, sociable, kitsch.

Summer - antique, calm, perfected, elegant, traditional.

Autumn - authentic, earthy, eclectic, nature, nostalgic, rich.

Winter - opulent, bold, intense, vibrant, decadence.

We were then asked to choose the words we thought best described our homes. Although our homes probably have aspects of all four seasons, we tend to fall more into one or two of the seasons. I discovered I'm a mix of both Spring and Autumn and now with that knowledge in mind we went on to create our mood boards for our chosen room.

Talking of mood boards, I think the last time I did a mood board I was in my twenties. With modern technology and the phenomenon that is Pinterest, the humble mood board seems to have be pushed aside. I cannot tell you had helpful I found it and it pretty much shaped the end result of the room. Without over thinking I cut out images and colours I loved from a variety of home, fashion, travel magazines, and fabric swatches. Very quickly I realised a pattern. I love clean and fresh, but with earthy textures. I also realised where I went wrong with my last colour choice too, I much prefer it as an accent colour in the room rather than a block colour on the walls.

Armed with my mood board and paint samples back in Edinburgh I was excited to get started. Now I finally had an idea of how I wanted the room to look it made choosing a colour so much easier. After trying a few samples I made my final colour choice, Owlswick, in Active Emulsion. Described as a grown up grey with a creamy base, I thought this would be the perfect backdrop for the look and vibe I wanted for the room, and I'm happy to say this time I was right! I absolutely adore the colour, it's grey but without being cold, which is exactly what I was after. The quality of the paint spoke for itself as it glided on covering the previous colour with no problem at all.

Once the walls were painted it was now on to the fun part of styling the room, and with my accent colours chosen, pink and green, the room started to finally come together. As with all the rooms in our home I never feel they're fully finished, as I prefer to add to the rooms over time when I find the right pieces, but for now I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. I'm so pleased this Christmas our guests finally have a welcoming room to stay in.

If you're struggling with any interiors choices just now, have a look at the categories and see which ones you fall into. Also, you have to check out all of Sanderson Paint's stunning new colours, you can find them HERE, and I thoroughly recommend creating a moodboard for interior inspiration, as you can see I stayed very close to mine.

Other details:

Prints, Desenio / Bamboo Stools, Rocket St George / Glass Vase, Next / Sheepskin rug, Ikea / Bedding, Next / Cashmere Blanket, The White Company / Small Cushions, Sainsbury's Home / Floor Lamp, Ikea / Decorative Ladder, Ikea /

* This post is in proud collaboration with Sanderson Paint. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Monday, 10 December 2018 Comments: 1

If I had to pick a favourite season, it would have to be autumn. It literally takes my breath away every year. It's the one season in particular that forces us to stop a little, or at least it is for me. I find myself wanting to take long walks, to soak up all the colours, and my goodness, do those walks feel good for the soul. A chance to take in the fresh air and recharge a little bit. It's always a reflective time of year for me too, as we draw closer to the end of another year, I always feel like any changes I want to make, that this is the time to make them. I spoke recently about wanting to regain some much needed balance in my life and this time of year feels like the perfect time to do that.

This year has been a particular busy one for us, it's been wonderful, but it's also brought new challenges for Michael and I, mostly with managing our time and work loads. Realising that life isn't about to get any quieter, it's more about changing our approach. For me, rather than complain about being busy which serves no purpose (other than to add to my growing anxiety), I'm focusing on managing my time better, as my lack of organisation is the number one culprit for any stress and anxiety I tend to feel.

It's funny how in life opportunities seem to come at just the right time, and collaborating with Fossil to try out their new Smartwatch Gen4 is a cracking example of that. When they first contacted me I was thrilled because I love Fossil, but yet I wasn't sure about a smart watch. For a girl who works in social media and spends a large proportion of my time on my phone and laptop, my first thought was, do I really need another smart device in my life?! I spend my life on my phone and I thought this might be yet another potential distraction, because of this very concern it's been really interesting getting to try out the watch and make use of all the functions.

First impressions. Looks. The watch is pretty, like seriously pretty. I've always found other smart watches too look quite techy and just like a smaller version of your phone strapped to your wrist. Zero appeal aesthetically for me, therefore I ruled out smart watches quite quickly in the past. Fossil are changing that perspective with their Smartwatch Gen4 series.

Setting up the smart watch is super easy. Once you've downloaded the Wear OS by Google app, to your phone, there's simple instructions guiding you how to sync your smart watch with your phone, and when that is complete, you're good to go. You can control all the notifications you want to receive to your smart watch, so the watch is tailored to your exact needs.

This is where I discovered one of the main benefits when it comes to wearing a smart watch. Thanks to the notifications, I pick up my phone LESS, and picking up my phone less can only a good thing for me. For example, do you pick up your phone to check notifications, only to than fall down an Instagram (or insert your social media preference here ;) ) rabbit hole for the next hour? This is me ALL. THE. TIME. and that right there, is the main problem when it comes to my poor time management. Spending too much time on my phone when I shouldn't be, and scrolling aimlessly rather than being productive with my screen time. Now that I get my notifications to my watch, I know which ones I need to deal with straight away or can be left until later on without even picking up my phone.

Google Fit. Another aspect of the watch that has been good for me, is tracking my fitness, or should I say the lack there of. I've known for a while now I need to focus more on my general well being and fitness. I'm at that age where I feel like if I don't do something about it now it's going to be a slippery slope. I've never been one for wanting to loose weight but now an extra little tyre is sitting around my mid drift and it's making clothes not fit like they used to.

I want to feel good about my body and increase my energy levels, and right now, my watch is telling me that I'm not moving anywhere near enough to make those things happen. I've never tracked my fitness before and this has given me some much needed motivation to get my act together. My current goals are to hit 10,000 steps, 60 move minutes and 10 heart points (you score a heart point when you do activities at a higher pace, like a brisk walk etc) a day. I'll report back how I get on with this, but right now it's given me some much needed motivation.

The points I've touched upon are definitely the ones that have stood out for me these past few weeks when wearing the watch. I've also found the calendar and setting reminders really useful too, not to mention the find my phone feature, I use that a lot ;).

I also love that I can control what music I play in the house from my watch too. I'm definitely finding I'm using my phone less and less because of features like this.

Charge wise, with full notifications on I get a days charge from the watch but if you need to save battery life you simply adjust notifications.

Overall, I'm very impressed with Fossil's stylish take on the smart watch. If you're thinking about a smart watch I highly recommend you check their range out.

If you missed my post about regaining some much needed balance, you can read it HERE.

Thursday, 15 November 2018 Comments: 0

I've found since sharing images of our home on Instagram and the blog that people are often surprised to find out that we live in a new build home. I thought I'd give you a bit of the back story as to why we chose our home as I feel new builds can get a lot of bad rep. They're often lumbered in the characterless home category, which can be true of some new builds but not all. I also think it's about what you put into your home that in fact brings the character. So to rewind back four years...

When Michael and I where originally looking for a family home to buy we were on completely different pages. Me, I wanted old, a project, something we could do up from scratch and call our own.

Michael wanted a shiny new build.

Now you could say Michael won that battle, as of course in November this marks three years in our new build. Side question, when does a new build stop being called a new build btw?? I feel like we could live here 50 years and I'll still be referring to it as a new build. Anyway, I digress, back to Michael winning the new build battle.

What really happened was that the more we looked for the right property in Edinburgh the less attractive my old house dream became. We never found THAT property, you know, the one that gets you excited about renovating, that would justify months if not years of living in upheaval and general hell. Also, the Edinburgh market meant buying the house alone would max out our budget leaving very little to renovate with. Was it really going to be worth it?

So one afternoon I gave in and we took a drive out to North Berwick to see a new build home that was scheduled to be built in Edinburgh. Upon walking through the door I fell in love. I knew I really loved the property as the décor, although very lovely, was absolutely not to my taste. I could trust it wasn't the fancy furniture that was selling this home to me, it was the space, the light, how fluid the home felt. I could see us there. I could see the boys growing up in a home like that.

Now granted no one likes to admit when they're wrong but on this occasion I had to agree with Michael. It felt right. This new build was going to be our home. A renovation project had always been my dream and not Michael's. I think if you're going to undertake something so big you need to both be passionate about it.

So we signed on the dotted line, we then both freaked out, and became one step closer to owning a detached (hello, no more apartment living with neighbours living above, below and to the sides of us!) house with a garden for our boys, which I know was something we had BOTH dreamt about, new build/old build aside.

With no big renovation project on my hands I was now being handed the keys to a completely white washed blank canvas, which was daunting in a different way. Yes, the property was light and airy, but how on earth would I bring character to this new build? All the aspects that drew me to older properties never felt more missed in that one moment.

Firstly, I didn't rush. This property was bigger than our last home, and we had decluttered a lot during our move, so we didn't have a whole lot of stuff to fill our new home with. A blank canvas can be all too tempting to rush out and simply buy things to fill it, I knew I absolutely didn't want to do that. I wanted the home to grow with us over time, and slowly fill it with things we love.

It's now the most lovely feeling when people compliment our home, especially those who are pleasantly surprised with what you can do with a new build. I take that as a huge compliment, because I wanted a home with character and I never felt sure if I would actually be able to achieve that with a newer property at the time. I get asked a lot how we went about decorating our new build so I thought I'd share a few tips here, although I feel these tips apply for any home you're wanting to put your own stamp on.

LIVE IN THE PROPERTY. I know its all very exciting planning a move and decorating your new home, and it can be tempting to start ordering furniture before you even have the keys in your hand, but I think waiting is key (get it? Sorry! ;). Even if that means sleeping on a mattress on your bedroom floor, and using deck chairs for the first few weeks or months, by waiting you get a proper feel for the property and where you'd like furniture to go. Then you can take measurements to find the perfect pieces. You'll also know what rooms you tend to spend more time in, which for me really dictates the furniture and the spend.

BRING YOU INTO YOUR HOME. Unless you have endless amounts of cash and can afford that 3 grand light fixture you keep dreaming about, it's safe to say we're all shopping in the same shops which means we're all buying the same or similar interior items. I'm all for finding affordable interior buys and taking inspiration from others, but it's how you put your own spin on it that will make it yours and not just another Ikea purchase. Mix high street items, with one off finds. For me those finds come from my own family and upbringing, the fact I live away from my home town of Liverpool has definitely inspired some of the pieces I have in my home. Also buy local, see what makers and sellers are doing in your city, and don't forget sourcing your local selling pages too. It's astounding what you can find.

TEXTURE. I'm love having different textures in our home as I feel it really adds character. Wicker, wool, linen, wood, metal, cotton, give me it all. There's so many beautiful rugs, throws and cushions out there that can really bring a lovely lush and warm feel to your home. Throw in wicker baskets, planters, wall hangings, macrame and I just feel it adds lots of character to a otherwise bland space.

COLOUR. There's nothing like walking into a fully white washed home that will scare you off adding colour. We lived with the white walls for nearly two years before I plucked up the courage to paint. I'm so glad we did though as it's been the best thing we've done. Colour can bring a cosiness to the starkness of a new build, and if you go for rich and opulent colours, it's like character in a tin of paint.

PLANTS. Okay for anyone who hates plants you can skip this one, but for those that kill plants but want plants in their home, stick with me. I was a plant killer, I thought the green finger has skipped a generation in my family, but it hasn't. It turns out starving a plant of water and then thinking, oh crap, and then drowning it in water isn't the way to go. Plants don't need to be high maintenance, it's just more about buying the right ones for your home and feeding regularly, rather than the all or nothing approach that I was once accustomed too. The benefits of plants in your home? For me you just can't beat that pop of green and the beauty of having something grow in your home. As they grow they change and in turn add more and more character to your home. My friend, Sally, bought me the most beautiful book for my birthday, Leaf Supply. It's all about house plants and I highly recommend if you're a novice, not to mention it makes a cracking looking coffee table book too.

LOVE YOUR HOME. For the majority of us our homes are never going to feel perfect or finished, but nor should they be. Instead of picking out the negatives of your home, work on the positives. Whether you're renting or maybe you're not living in what feels like your forever home, don't let that hold you back from having a home you love. You don't need to spend a fortune to have a home you adore, little touches go a long way.

Are you moving? You can read all my tips on packing HERE.

Want to declutter your home? You can read more about how we achieved that HERE and HERE.

Having trouble making interior choices? Sometimes it just takes one piece you love that can inspire a whole room. Read HERE which piece inspired a lot of the interior choices I made in our home.

Sunday, 11 November 2018 Comments: 2

this little house

AD | Finding the Perfect Fitting Jeans with M&S

AD | Mother's Day Trip with Joules at Watergate Bay

(ad) SPARE ROOM MAKE OVER with SANDERSON PAINT

(ad) GETTING SMART WITH TIME in collaboration with FOSSIL

HOW WE CAME TO LIVE IN A NEW BUILD

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