Filling My Home With Flowers.

One thing I love to treat myself & our home to is a bouquet of fresh flowers every week. The colours they bring to the room are so uplifting & they breathe life into our very white house. It's my way of adding pops of colour, here, there & everywhere without it being too permanent. It's always so lovely to walk into a room & be greeted by beautiful blooms along with their fresh fragrance. 
Whenever it's time to pick up a bunch of pretties I can always rely on Aldi or Asda to fulfil my floral needs. They both stock such a huge range & I never normally have to part with too many pennies either. Aldi was my absolute hero when Peony Season arrived, it's one of my favourite times of the year & I was able to have Peonies for £3 a bunch so I was a happy girl! Now Peony Season is over, my go to choice of flowers are sweetheart roses or a spray of Gypsophila. 
I tend to use old Coffee Jars as vases as they're a decent size to hold a small bouquet in. Otherwise I will use my trusty IKEA ENSIDIG vase which is perfect for housing larger bouquets. In celebration of British Flower Week Four Walls have put together a Pinterest Inspired post with loads of ideas on how to display flowers if you're looking for something a bit different. I love the idea of hollowing out a Pineapple to host a bunch of flowers, so fun! 
As well as flowers I'm a big fan of Cacti, wherever you look in my house you'll spot a mini Cactus. I'd love to invest in a huge one eventually, but wow they are crazy prices, my mini trio of IKEA cactuses will do for now!

If I ever fancy a real splurge on flowers then I head straight to Bloom & Wild, a company that deliver fresh flowers straight through your letterbox. It's a really convenient way to purchase flowers from the comfort of your sofa & they usually arrive next day, carefully handpicked & ready to be arranged. I recently attended an Etsy Event that hosted a Bloom & Wild workshop where I was able to put together my own Posy collection. Aptly named 'The Posy Party' the box includes 5 miniature bottles & a selection of wildflowers to be displayed wherever takes your fancy. I ended up with 9 posies as my friends brought theirs back to my house & we ended up placing them below my TV to spruce up the mantelpiece. They would look so pretty on their own though too, dotted around your home to add a little decoration. 

If you're looking for more home inspiration have a look at Four Walls, there are some lovely reads on there, I've bookmarked the site for future reference!
Are you a fan of flowers in the home?
- Thank you to Four Walls for sponsoring this post -
L x

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Bedroom Mood Board

When we moved into our house, almost a year a go now, we knew we had a lot of work ahead of us but started with the necessities & went from there really. Our bedroom & the living room were our main priorities as luckily the Kitchen & Bathroom were both brand new so we could leave them untouched until we fancied adding our own stamp to them. So, we moved in & painted our bedroom white, bought all our furniture from IKEA & had Venetian Blinds fitted on our huge bay windows. Sometimes I wonder if fitting the blinds was a good idea but because we live in a terraced house you can practically see into the house opposite, so they were necessary for privacy! Apart from painting the room we didn't do anything else, until recently that is...
I knew the dingy old carpet was hiding the original floorboards underneath & I had been itching to rip it up since day one but we also knew it would be a huge job so it kept being put to the back of our never-ending to-do list. Until curiosity (& frustration) got the better of me & I took a kitchen knife to the carpet & sliced it all up one day whilst Dom was at work. It was hard work but actually no where near as bad as I had expected it to be, I ensured I cut up small sections at a time, rolled them up & took them straight downstairs & outside to be taken to the tip later on. Usually I'm a very impatient person & want everything doing quickly so I'm glad I thought this project out a little more than most of my DIY jobs because I didn't have a huge mess to tidy up at the end. It was so exciting ripping up the horrible carpet to discover the floorboards & thankfully they were in much better condition than we had anticipated. Dom had envisaged us spending money on having to replace some of the boards, but we are all good! 
Then came the sanding, okay so this was a nightmare... THE DUST!! Every article I read on the Internet stated there would be a huge amount of dust but I still didn't believe it would be THAT bad. I was so wrong! We sanded the floorboards over two weeks ago now & the dust is still settling. My life has been a constant circle of hoovering & mopping to try & get rid of the fine layer that still keeps appearing. It is, however, absolutely worth it & I love the floorboards so much. We are going to have to paint them though as they are too imperfect to simply have a coat of varnish, but I don't mind because I can have white floorboards, dreams do come true! 
Now the hard work is over, I've been pinning like crazy, here is my Pinterest if you don't already follow, and I now know exactly how I want the room to look like when it's completed. The only other project I did want to do was to chip off all the plaster on the Chimney breast to expose the brick work & then paint it white to add some texture like in the image on the top left. However Dom has said no way to that idea (the only thing he has said no to though!) because our house has suffered with damp issues so he thinks it's best to leave it how it is! 
With the very White blank canvas my possibilities are endless & that is why I love all things white. Every time we have visitors they ask me if I'm going to paint the walls & I always say maybe but I know in the back of my mind that isn't going to happen. I actually read a that white on white, on white, with pops of colour will bring a room to life & that has been my motto. I still want to keep it quite muted though & have become obsessed with blush, grey & gold tones so I'm going to stick to that palette to keep the room a calm, serene & relaxing place to be. 
I'm after a Blush Linen Bedding Set but the only one I've been able to find is from Cox & Cox for an extortionate price, way out of my budget so I'll have to keep on hunting. I then want to have stacks of cushions dotted around the room, I like the look they give & they add a bit of cosiness too without being full on. This Betsy Four Drawer Jewellery Box would make a pretty addition to my dresser & ties in with my theme perfectly so I may have to treat myself to it! I'm in need of some extra storage anyway so it's a completely justified purchase, right? I've got a bit of a thing for pom poms at the moment too, I'm gonna have a go at making my own giant ones & attaching them to throws, or perhaps making some kind of wall art with them. I'm hoping we can have the room finished by the end of May so I can do a room tour when it's done. Let me know if you've seen any accessories or think I'll like something, I'm always looking for more inspiration!
What do you think of my bedroom mood board?
L x

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Homesense #LoveFromFirstFind Event

A couple of weeks ago I was invited along to the Homesense #LoveFromFirstFind in Manchester. If you know me then you'll know that Homesense is one of my absolute favourite homeware shops, so I was super excited when the email landed in my inbox! I arranged to meet up with Abi, my blogging bestie who I've known for years now, we both started our blogs around the same time & it's really great having the opportunity to attend events together. 

On arrival we were greeted by the lovely Fran, who ran us through the plan for the evening, handed us a glass of fizzy Elderflower, pointed us to the delicious buffet of food & gave us a gift card to have a little shopping spree with. Once we had filled up on tasty little canapés & sandwiches we were ready to explore the huge Homesense store at Barton Square in the Trafford Centre. It was much bigger than any other Homesense store I had visited before which filled me with excitement, to me it's like entering a giant treasure chest, you never know what you're going to find but you're sure you'll fall in love with something!

Abi & I spent a good hour or so browsing all the aisles, discussing what we loved, our plans for our new homes & generally had the best evening homeware shopping! The store was presented beautifully, with a huge faux flower display, a beautiful Valentines stand & small room sets arranged to really get your imagination running wild. Whenever I step foot in a Homesense store I come away filled with ideas for our house!

With the gift card I was given I purchased a beautiful bouquet of silk Peonies, a mint wire basket & a set of three cute notebooks. The peonies are the most stunning faux flowers I've ever come across, they are so realistic looking & even feel real too! I know these are going to be one of my most-used & most-loved blog photo prop from now on & they will also save me a few pennies when Peony season arrives as I won't *need* to buy a bunch of fresh ones. The mint basket I picked up is the perfect accessory for our bathroom as it has a grey, white & mint theme & is ideal to store all my LUSH bath products in, I love how colourful they all look nestled amongst each other. I couldn't resist popping the set of three mini notebooks into my basket either, the cute yet simple pastel coloured designs caught my eye & will be so handy for jotting down to-do lists, blogging notes etc etc!
Let me know what you think of my finds! (:
L x

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Oh Christmas Tree...

So today marks the first day of advent & also the first day of Blogmas! I'm gonna try my best to be involved with it the whole time, I've done a LOT of planning so I'll be really disapointed with myself if I end up failing. I'm really excited for all the content I've got planned, I've been pretty quiet on my blog this year so I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!
Today I've been turning our home into a magical, festive grotto. Ever since we bought the house I've been counting down the days until I could get the tree down from the attic & quite literally deck the halls! I actually put the tree up two weeks ago because I just couldn't wait, it's made our house really cosy. I've now added bunting, tissue paper pom poms, festive scented candles & I've got some more decorations on order to finish it off completely. My cousin actually made the tissue pom poms for me, we had a crafty afternoon on Sunday making decorations which was really fun, I'll be sharing a tutorial soon. I'd also LOVE to get a real Christmas tree as well but I'm a little wary of the needles dropping with two pugs around who eat anything & everything they can find. Has anyone any experience of real trees with dogs?
I've started off with a simple post but tomorrow I'll be sharing my November favourites, then I'll be bombarding you all with Christmassy related content, think gift guides, recipes & festive beauty posts! Hope you all enjoy (:
Have you got your Christmas tree up yet!?
L x

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Halloween & Autumnal Decor

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween...
Here's a little peak into how I've decorated our home for the Autumn. Ever since we moved in one of the things I've been most excited about is the chance to decorate for each season. As soon as Autumn appeared I switched my Summer candles over to more spicy scented ones & picked up some Halloween related decor too. We are having a little gathering tomorrow evening so I scoured the shops for some bits & pieces to make our living space have a bit of a 'spooky' theme. I've hung a skeleton garland from our beautiful cast iron fireplace & filled the fire pit with candles & placed munchkins & a full sized pumpkin on the floor to create a little scene! Of course I had to pick up some Autumnal coloured flowers too.

Do you decorate for the seasons?

L x

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A Homeware Wishlist

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine
At the moment we are swamped with DIY so I haven't been buying nice things like cushions, candles & copper accessories, instead we have been spending our money on boring but important things like an alarm system for the house & metal paint to restore our cast iron fireplace with... I have to admit it is pretty fun seeing our house transforming into a home & I find it really satisfying seeing the rooms coming together. We still haven't got anywhere near as much done as I had hoped we would have by now but August was a busy month with a Christening & Engagement party to attend plus we did a 500 mile round trip to collect Lulu Pug & I've been working loads of overtime it's just been non stop! The main project we have at the moment is finishing all the gloss work in both the living & dining areas, plus finish painting the dining room walls, & then finally getting the TV mounted onto the wall. Our to do list is never ending but I love what we have achieved so far & I can't wait to be able to photograph rooms once they are finished to share with you all!
I've given myself a little (big) goal of getting the living & dining areas pretty much complete by the end of October so that we can throw a housewarming party before it's too late! Looking at interior inspiration on Pinterest & window shopping online has made me feel motivated to try & achieve it. I really want to get original style cupboards & shelving built into the alcoves in the living room (see here!) so I need to get some quotes for that & I really need to decide on a coffee table, plus some little end tables to go next to the sofa. I'm also tempted to pick up two more Eames style chairs for our dining table, we currently have four white ones but I'm thinking of getting a couple in teal to add some colour to the room. 
Whats your favourite item on my wishlist? L x

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Pretty Peonies (+ Serenata Flowers giveaway!)

It's Peony season & that is the best season in my opinion (ok, maybe Christmas is but still!), these beautiful blooms are everywhere & that makes me so happy. I was sent the most incredible bouquet of Peonies last week, they are more beautiful than I can explain & I have been eager to share these photos since I took them! Peonies seem to be the latest accessory for beauty bloggers photographs & I fully admit I am well & truly in with this trend but they compliment beauty products so well & really are the prettiest flowers ever so I don't mind seeing them pictured in almost every blog I read! In fact, I'm lovin' it (babababa...) & will be sad when Peony season comes to an end.

Anyway, Serenata Flowers have been kind enough to not only send me the beautiful Peony Pleasure Bouquet (£38.99) but are also offering my readers a chance to win their very own bouquet too, or a £40 gift voucher, whatever you prefer! My bouquet arrived the day after I'd responded to the email, speedy delivery service is the best & I've now got Serenata Flowers in my bookmarks incase I ever want to send a bunch of flowers over to someone. Price wise I would say Serenata are really reasonable, especially when you consider that for 4/5 Peony Stems in Supermarkets can be upto £8.00. This bouquet contains 15 Peonies plus sprigs of Bupleurum & leafy Hosta Francee, it would make a beautiful gift or a real nice treat to yourself! I actually wish I could have this bunch delivered to my door each week!

The giveaway will run from Sunday 19th July 2015 until Sunday 2nd August 2015. Unfortunately the giveaway is for UK entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you love Peonies just as much as me?

L x

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A Homeware Wishlist

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight

It's Saturday night & here I am, sat in bed (still waiting on the arrival of our sofa) browsing through Pinterest etc looking for interior inspiration. We were supposed to have a really productive DIY day but with one thing after another today was basically written off & I reverted back to bed by 4pm. All evening I've been lying here like grrr house y u no pretty but I've decided to stop feeling sorry for myself & gather some ideas together. I was hoping to get the living room walls painted today so that when the sofa does arrive, in 4 days time hopefully, the room is ready. Maybe tomorrow will be a better DIY day, I'm hoping so anyway! 
When I ordered the sofa I was torn between choosing a turquoise blue armchair or sticking with the same colour as the sofa. In the end I went with the same because I'm forever getting bored & thought it would be better to stick with a grey sofa that I can add cushions & throws to, they're easy to switch around & I can inject different colours whenever I feel like it! I'm drawn to all the turquoise & mint colours at the mo, so I definitely want to get some cushions in those kinda shades but apart from that I'm not gonna stick to a colour scheme really. We are also hoping to add another little Pug to our family in the next few months so I'm gonna start stocking up on throws now to make sure I'm able to protect our new sofas from puppy pee & tiny teefs!
We have the Eames Style chairs for our dining table & we have a lot of space to fill so I think the rocking chair version would sit in one of the corners nicely. I'd add a big cushion to finish it off & make it my little reading corner. I'm also on the look out for artwork I can place in the living/dining area. I'm obsessed with the Ice Lolly Watercolour print I found over on Etsy & I just know it will look perfect in the kitchen, I've also found a Totoro print I'm buying for my dressing room/blogging room/beauty room. I want the house to be full of fun things to look at & I love the idea of getting artwork that's a bit different! I've got some small cacti dotted around the place too (as does every other blogger & their dog!) & I want to add some more greenery, nothing too wild just a few simple house plants here & there. I always have fresh flowers around so a couple of plants will tie things together, I just need some pretty plant pots instead of those ugly plastic terracotta ones most plants come in!
L x

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