Hygge Nook

LaVoliere pendant

I'm not overly keen on keeping birds in cages, but I am keen on having this in my house. (If I had pendant fittings and if I had a big chunk o' change.)

LaVoliere pendant from The Conran Shop. *Only* £369.

The Conran Shop top pick

The Conran Shop asked me to select my top pick of their range under £100. Being an intrepid window shopper, that was no problem, though whittling it down to just one pick, well, that was a tough one. Even so, I kept coming back to this bone frame. The juxtaposition between such a hard material, yet those soft feminine petals was what grabbed me. It's just 10 by 10cms so it would make a great addition in the midst of a wall of crisp white picture frames. 
(I've never been entirely sure if 'bone' means just that, or if it is some other type of material given that name. Someone enlighten me?)

Teacup wall

I've been meaning to post about this wall for ages. My daughter, S, and I stopped in at a cafe called The Cocoa House in Bluewater (a large shopping mall just outside London) for some tea and cake a few weeks ago and I just had to snap this wall of teacups. I did some investigating and found that the saucers were screwed to the wall and the cups hung on the screw. (Well, there was a broken cup and I could see; I won't ever make a detective.) It certainly made a change from the popular plate walls and could be recreated at home.

 

The lighting isn't great but don't you just love the detail on the cups and saucers. S and I spent a long time discussing our favourites. I also had to snap this wall behind us - the teacup clock and the illuminated teapots were gloriously fun. I only wish I had had a proper camera with me.

 

Unfortunately their website doesn't have any decor pics which is a shame as they had a fab chandelier made of wine glasses which I didn't get a pic of.

Happythought printable Christmas garland

I can see this idea going blogospheric. It's that cool. This garland is the brainchild of happythought who sell their PDF kits on Etsy. All you have to do is print, fold, hang and insert some kind of surprise in the little upturned paper cones. These look a ton better than a garish character advent calender plus you can get a few treats inside each date.

 

It costs $7 (or £4.52) and you can find the happythought Etsy store here or at their website here - there's a bunch of other cute prints and PDFs too...

Lunchbox World - foodie transport for grown ups

Since I've started working full time in an office, I've found myself either forking out a fair bit for some yummy lunches from Waitrose (it's right around the corner from my building) or making up a packed lunch to take in. I can't say that the lunches I make, or the plastic box I carry it in, are particularly exciting and there's that little issue that the food may well spill out into my bag one day. Yikes.

 
So here's where Lunchbox World come in. They got in touch last week to let me know that they had some of the Blafre range in store and after browsing, the Built NY sandwich bags really grabbed my eye. They're not cheap at £23-£33 but they do insulated and keep your lunch cool for up to four hours plus they're machine washable. I like the long handled version in black and white the best. It's a pretty chic way to transport your lunch, yes? And I had to include the sandwich shape box because it was so cute.

P.S. The Good Web Guide has a discount offer for the store here.

Quick Fix Tuesday: Glass apothecary jar

 
We all need a little pick me up don't we? A little something that brightens up the home but doesn't bust the bank balance. So, here's the first Quick Fix Tuesday with fab finds that are big on style and low on budget.

I gotta tell you though, I was in two minds about posting this. Please don't let them sell out before I can buy one. (Which btw I will have to sneak into the house because Y's first comments was 'the kids will smash it.' Eek!)

Glass jar, £14 at Next.

Norwegian loveliness from Blafre

I'm going to come straight out with it. I can't tell you a lot about Norewegian brand Blafre due to a little translation issue. What I can tell you is that their products are awesome, whimsical, the right blend of retro, fresh and unique and well, just look...

 

The products are largely for children but I defy any adult to not want to keep a lunchbox like this on their desk.

The fun patterns extend to robots, elephants, whales and, of course, owls too with thermoses, pretty boxes, bedding and more...

 

Unfortunately they don't yet sell to customers online outside of Norway but there is a list of international stockists here.

P.S. There's also a blog with photos and the occasional smattering of English over here and a Facebook page here.

Update! Lunchbox World have just been in touch to tell me that they stock the lunchboxes, tins, drinking bottles and thermoses, prices range from £6.99 to £21.99.

Ben de Lisi 'Ella' dog lamp

 
I'm in love. With a lamp. An impossibly cute lamp. I think it would look adorable in my younger children's room.

Ella the dog lamp by Ben de Lisi.

Papermash

I must admit there's always been a very special place in my heart for stationery. Problem is I love it so much that I buy it and then don't want to send it away. Which sort of defeats the object of buying the pretties for other people to enjoy too.

Anyway, I want to give a mention to Papermash, a rather fab online store from a fellow blogger, which has a fairly fab, but dimunitive collection of ephermera goodness. I think these letterpress wine tags are irresistible (and just £2.25!) while the polaroid postcards remind me of visiting Paris earlier this year...

 
 

You can find Papermash online and there's currently free UK p&p for orders over £25.

VoucherCodes Autumn Home Style Challenge

When VoucherCodes got in touch to ask me to take part in their Autumn Home Style Challenge, I was happy to put my thinking (or should that be 'shopping') hat on and scour the web for some bargains. Their catch? Everything I found had to be under £50 and be able to help spruce up a room without having to re-decorate from scratch.

Here's what I came up with (I think I must have had tea parties on my mind):

 
1. Tu Teal ZigZag Cushion, £8 Sainsbury's 2. Vintage butterfly cake stands, £35 for two Bombay Duck 3.  Jonathan Adler Salt & Peppar Shakers, £42 Heal's 4.Varme teapot, £6.99 Ikea 5. Butterfly table runner, £6.99 H&M 6. Set of 4 espresso cups, £24 Cath Kidston 7. Cubic vase, £22 Graham&Green 8. Vintage chandelier print, £8.01 Ish & Chi at Etsy 9. White tray on stand, £30 Velvet

I'll be keeping an eye on the Most Wanted blog to see what the other challengers selected.

*This post was sponsored by VoucherCodes but all opinions and choices are my own*