Hygge Nook

So about that book I wrote...

I mentioned that I was on hiatus partly down to writing books. While I've had a few non-fiction books lately, what I'm really proud of is my debut novel Illicit Magic. The first in an adult paranormal series, Illicit Magic is the story of Stella, a lonely twenty-four-year-old woman who is targeted by a sinister group known as the Brotherhood due to her burgeoning, uncontrollable magic, before being whisked away by her saviour to a remote safe house. There she has to come to terms with the new path her life is on, learn to control her magic and unravel a mystery. There's magic, romance, a devilish plot and I hope you'll love it.

You can get it for your Kindle via Amazon US ($1.12) and Amazon UK (68p) and for other ereaders via Smashwords (99c). I'd love it if you would leave me a review on any of these sites - or on the book's Goodreads page - and look out for the sequel which should go on sale end of July.

And thus ends this brief self-promote :-)

Still on a hiatus...

Doesn't life fly by when you have a zillion things to do and a mere twenty-four hours in the day? I'm still on blogging hiatus (there's a book to finish, and another to start, and a bunch of other projects) so until life gets back to normal, here's a page of some of my favourite links and projects for you to look at:

Offices that came out of the closet

The crazy cool teatime lamp I stalked and bought

A gorgeous green and white living room

Inspirational children's shared rooms

The crocheted floor pillow I made using a recycled Ikea mattress

How to update an Ikea Bekvam stool

Thanks again for your patience. Mwah!

Cosmopolitan Blog Awards

 

Being the eternally optimistic type of gal that I am, I'm keeping a beady eye on the outcome of the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2010. Nominations have just ended so here's hoping Hygge Nook has made the shortlist for the lifestyle category.

Asides from that, isn't it great how Big Names in the UK are really getting on board with blogging? Blogging, and its value, is something that I've written about for various publications, given talks on for numerous bodies and generally just enthused about to all and sundry. So it really is fabulous to see said Big Names taking notice of such a vibrant community of UK bloggers and giving nods to their work. 

Do vote on us for the Design Democracy Awards 2010 too!

Do leave me a comment letting me know which blogs are your favourite too, or a link back to your own.

Thank you

Over the past few weeks I've been doing some blog maintenance here. For a start, there's that brand spanking new design which makes me very happy. Then I've been fixing a bunch of broken links in the navigation bar which now lead to where they are supposed to go. Thanks for putting up with that and I hope you like the scenery a lot more now.

In the course of doing bits and pieces I checked out my Feedburner and noticed that subscribers to this here blog have shot up for 25% in the past month, so I would like to say a big ol' thank you to those of you who've taken the time to sign up. It's awfully nice knowing that there are regular readers (even though there aren't a massive amount of commentators) and I truly appreciate it.

I have some more blogs lined up with some projects I'm doing, just as soon as I can get the XD card reader on my laptop to stop sulking and start working again.

Until then:

Subscribe here

Find me on Twitter here

And follow me in the 'Friends' box on the sidebar to the right...

Watch this space...

I'm currently working with a designer on a long overdue redesign for Hygge Nook, so if service goes a little squiffy in the coming days, don't worry! I'll still be posting while the design gets installed and hopefully any squiffiness (technical term, natch) will be minimal. I've seen the initial design and I'm super excited to go ahead with a big reveal when everything is finished.

So, let's wave byebye to the current look and get ready to say hello to the cool new Nook.

Etsy shop

I mentioned a while ago that I've been working on a secret project in the occasional seconds of free time I get. At last, it's ready to be revealed.

In the grand tradition of blogging, I've opened up an Etsy shop where I'll be selling little knitted accessories and things. Want to take a look?

 
There's pretty corsages brooches in poppy red, gold, heather and bubblegum pink with beaded centres...

 
or in dual tones such as heather and gold or heather and pink...

 
plus there's rosettes for your jackets and stuffed hearts ready to hang... 

You can find the shop here with the first few corsages added and I'll keep you updated as more items become ready.

Stay tuned... I feel a giveaway coming on.

Hygge Nook 2009

This little blog has been going for just over a year now. It started out as a place to post cool homey finds and evolved into decor, mini makeovers and crafts. For the latter, I've even given away a freebie pattern and I hope to post more over 2010.

Let's take a look at the past year:

January - I fell in love with the Eames rocker.

 

February - I yearned for a Binth graphic print.

 

March - I found inspiration with the Bekvam stool makeovers found on Flickr.

 
April - Put Selina Lake's book Bazaar Style on my wishlist (and promptly bought it. Gorgeous).

 

May - Was all about Denmark. I visted Rie Elise Larsen's store in Copenhagen and fell further in love with Danish brand Rice.

 

June - realised how awesome globes are in these fabulous rooms and found one for just 99p on eBay.

 

July - found Lulu & Nat's children's bedding. There's no room for character prints here.

 

August - made my own DIY alphabet print thanks to intructions at Ohdeedoh.com.

 

September - knitted a sausage dog draught excluder from a vintage pattern.

 

October - really took this tip to heart on clutter control

 
...and was happy to see cool new online mag Lonny hit the web (second issue out now!)

November - learned to crochet (at last!) thanks to YouTube.

 

December - went on a bloggers' day trip to Brussels.

 

And here we are in 2010... It's been a year full of new things, new places and new people and it ended with a very nice bottle of Moet. Now, it's time for a little reflection and new direction. I don't have any resolutions as such but I hope to be more open to possibilities.

As for this blog, I hope to continue to make it better which will involve me learning more html and photoship skills to improve its look. And that's not to mention bringing more content that I hope readers will enjoy.

Again, Happy New Year to you all.

Homies 2009

 
Apartment Therapy have opened up their annual Homies with categories for home design, home tech, kids at home, green home and home cooking. You can nominate a whole bunch of blogs so you don't have to just whittle down your favourites to one (phew!) Additionally, it's a great site to find some fab new reads.

I've nominated my fave blogs here and I'd super duper appreciate it if you'd nominate Hygge Nook here too (I can't tell you how thrilled I am that there's already some votes!)

Follow Hygge Nook on Twitter

Want to know what we're up to? Follow our brand spanking new Twitter feed to find out what is inspiring us today, what interiors magazines and blogs we're reading and also, what we're buying!

Follow us here (and also check out the right sidebar for a quick peek at our updates).

Introducing new wedding blog Bridal Express

I'm very excited about our new sister site Bridal Express. As many readers may already know, I've been a wedding blogger for years now so I hope you'll like it. There are some lovely posts already up there including fab Etsy finds, some gorgeous mood boards and plenty more to come! Bridal Express won't forget guests and the rest of the wedding party either, so take a look, leave a comment and enjoy!

As for our other highly recommended sister sites, just take a look in the sidebar for the links. There's something for everyone from the best of reading with Five Minutes Peace, family site Bloom, delicious foodie ideas with Yum Scrumptious and more.