Inspiring interiors

Inspiring interiors

30/08/2013

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So for those who read the blog often will know that we are in between houses and actively on the lookout for our new home. We have seen a few, some have been great, others not so much, so are where falling down around us or just over our budget, others our heart have fallen for and then just missed out at the last minute. If anyone has gone through the buying and selling process you will know it's a very stressful one, but also a positive experience, as you cannot help but indulge in some interior design. I start dressing houses up in my mind, what would the perfect kitchen look like, how would my (in my dreams) Smeg fridge go or how would I make my bedroom unique.

I believe in less is more and quality over quantity and would love a mix of homemade, locally made, fair-trade and designer pieces to full my space. Interesting and eye catching whilst also remaining practical, I like nothing more than products that are well designed and fulfil their purpose whilst also being stylish - something that can be hard to achieve.

Design and practicality together equals true beauty

I have already made quite a few Pinterest boards, to help me see the light at the end of this long renting tunnel and I have been adding a lot of etsy finds to my "favourites" page. I am also all about finding bargains so I cannot wait till I have enough space to buy a few designer purchases on deal from sites such as HushHush - an online discount designer store and with stock changing all the time you never know what you are going to find if you like to have a rummage around Homesense is good place to look, it's basically TK Maxx homeware store.

Silver Nickel Tripod lamp from HushHush £135

I also love to support friends and creative locals and Tiger Lilly Quinn, a lovely blogger from Bristol has just opened a very cute online shop with some wonderful bits and bobs for the home, she only has a small collection but a very well curated one with so many pieces I love like this super cute print below, designed by Tiger Lilly herself. I cannot wait for my birthday next month, I am going to treat myself to something from her store

I love this print, so cute

Here are a few simple tips for when your redecorating your home or redesigning a room

1. Make a mood board, have a clear direction of what you want to feel and look like.
2. Shop around and be inspired - everyone including me loves stores such as IKEA but don't only by from one place as your room will start to look like a showroom for that company
3. Don't play it too safe, let your room reflect your personality
4. Have a mix of up cycled, thrifted, vintage, designer and hand made items, this was your space will become truly unique to you.
5. Be practical and make it liveable, especially if you have children, a house is to be lived in.

We already have a tipi for Mr A's room but I don't think you can have
too much of a good thing :) This is via Etsy

This post contains an sponsored and affiliate link

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Amsterdam Adventure - Part 1

Amsterdam Adventure - Part 1

29/08/2013

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I feel so lucky that I have had the opportunity to live in some amazing cities, one being Amsterdam. It's really hard to fully describe the place until you have been there yourself, it's very fast paced but at the same time the locals are very laid back and relaxed. It has an amazing mix of Museums, boutique and independent stores, wonderful parks which lie in paralle to the craziness of the nightlife, red light district and stags do's. I was lucky enough to secure a job before I arrived in the city, working in a well known backpackers, where I not only worked but also lived for a few months. I made a tone of friends, some of which will always be in my life. I eventually moved out into my own flat for a while before going off to explore more of europe, although I did return to the city later on, for an extended 6 week holiday. The city has a real soft spot in my soul, in the madness I will always feel comfortable, memories of riding my banged up little bike through all the lanes, laughing so hard with friends, enjoying the sun in Vondelpark and shopping in De Pjip. I literally cannot wait to go back. I can not fill a few months into one post, hence this is Amsterdam part 1. The only thing I wish I had at the time was a decent camera, my SLR broke just before my big trip and finances could not stretch for a new one so it's mix of film and a basic digital, but the memories are all still there :)

The view from my flat, was so sad to leave my plants

The canals are a beautiful place to get lost

The city if full of two things - bikes and street art

Chilling in the Park

My brother came to visit me during my time in the city

I have joined up with Travel Tuesday linky

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Summer casual

Summer casual

26/08/2013

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As the days are slowly starting to get shorter and I can feel the change in the air, I am trying to squeeze every moment of sunshine out of this summer, so as long as it's warm enough I am in shorts. When we go on family walks like we did this day, I like to keep it casual. I have paired up a wide neck top from White Stuff with Ralph Lauren supply and denim shorts and my vans, plus my super handy Kanken for carrying all our things we need for a good adventure. John and I also share glasses so technically I am wearing his H&M conscious collection shades.

Laura wears - White Stuff shirt, Ralph Lauren shorts, Van shoes, Asos belt, Guess watch
H&M conscious collection glasses, Kanken bag

This week both John and Mr A have been showing off there style on instagram and Mr A already has a  cute little strut down.

John wearing Ralph Lauren shirt, Edwin jeans, YMC loafers, Albam tote

Mr A rocking his stuff

I have joined in with Funday Monday linky

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Easy French style with Promod

Easy French style with Promod

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If you have not heard of a french company called Promod, you should really check it out. They recently came to Debenhams in Cardiff and I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the collection, which is very stylish and surprisingly reasonable and personally I was very impressed. I genuinely found pieces I would wear, perfect festival fashion, as well as cute jackets with interesting prints and every piece had some small detail I loved. I found the collection had the french chic and would suit many occasions but was also unique and on trend. Here are a few of my favourite jackets and tops..

Officers Jacket £44.95

Embroidered Denim dress £39.95

Jacquard casual jacket £69.95

Bib front top £17.95

Short Jacquard jacket £69.95

Also if your local to Cardiff, St Davids is doing the last mmmondays on the 27th August - 20 different restaurants are offering discounts with up to 30% off meals ad various other deals from coffee to shopping at Gap, it's easy to download the voucher online at St Davids, I mean who wouldn't want to save some money and a few are offering some great "kids eat free" deals.

This is NOT a sponsored post, I was invited to view the Promod collection but did not receive any products or money for this review, this is 100% my own words and simply wanted to share it with you.

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Exploring somewhere new....

Exploring somewhere new....

24/08/2013

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So we love exploring new places, park's, beaches, forest walks, big or small, as long as it provides some wonderful family time outdoors we are in. I have been mentioning Margam Country Park to John for a longtime and for some reason we have never made it over there until now. It was a very impromptu affair as we were actually on the way to somewhere else, with Johns parents, when we saw a sign for Margam and thought why not.

The Orangery

Margam Park is famous for it's 18th century Orangery, which is very impressive and is one of the first things you see when entering the park, alongside some old ruins and various sculptures that pull you into the landscape. 850 acres means a lot of space to explore and have fun. We heeded up to the visitors centre and Margam Castle, which is a beautiful building with wonderful details, right opposite the castle is wide open fields, perfect for Mr A's favourite pastime at the moment which is flying (as seen below)

Flying high

Margam Castle

We walked past the lake and miniature railway to the adventure playground, which is perfect for kids and big people (I thoroughly enjoyed hiding in the wooden castles) and Mr A loved the walking platform.

There is so much to see and do here, such as a farm trail, deer heard, fairytale land but since Johns father has not long had knee surgery so after about 2 hours or so it was time to head back so we only really touched the surface and cannot wait to go back and explore more. Mr A loved the trees, which were prefect for climbing.

Every week we join up with Country Kids - a great linky for families who love spending time outdoors.

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A perfect pamper day at St Pierre Marriott, Chepstow

A perfect pamper day at St Pierre Marriott, Chepstow

23/08/2013

14 comments

The beautiful Marriott Hotel - St Pierre in Chepstow

So it's been pretty much work work work lately with a stop of illness to throw everything out of the window so it was lovely to get the chance to have a date day just John and I and have a relaxing "experience day" pamper session at the beautiful St Pierre Marriott in Chepstow.

It feels like an age since we have spent any quality time with just the two of us and as soon as we got on the road and headed to this beautiful part of South Wales, I felt relaxed. The hotel was exquisite, a 14th century manor surrounded by countryside of the Wye Valley and we were instantly blown away with beauty of the place.

Laura wears - Boden tee, Next shorts, Guess watch, Carlos bag, New Look sandals, SXCU glasses

We both dressed quite casually as we wanted this day to be about comfort. Since the sun was out and I am aiming to make the most of the dwindling warmer days, I went for shorts and a Bodens tee, John went for a slightly smarter look of jeans and shirt but paired it up with some low-key YMC loafers and his Albam tote we picked up on our last trip to London

John wears - Ralph Lauren shirt, Edwin jeans, YMC loafers and Albam tote bag

After we had a stroll around the grounds, we popped over to the spa for our treatment. We had a choice of three and John went for a back, neck and shoulder massage as he has had some upper back pain for a while from being on his feet all day and I decided to go from a luxury manicure. I picked a lovely green shade and my nails and cuticles felt so amazing and smooth and the young girl doing the treatment was really friendly and approachable and the time flew by as we were having conversations about City life versus the country life.

I love the green shade of my manicure

 After our treatments we decided to see what else was on offer and had a little dip in the beautiful pool, followed by a steam room and jacuzzi relaxing. Due to the sensitive nature of these things we could not take photos but I can say for sure we felt very pampered.

Everyone needs to put their feet up every now and then

A day at a spa would not be complete with a little high tea, will in our case wonderful warm scones with jam and cream followed by some very delicious coffee. The bar courtyard was a great place to unwind with views across rolling hills.

Relaxing in the garden

All in all it was a perfect day, everything went smoothly and we felt refreshed and rejuvenated by the end and to be honest I don't think either of us wanted to leave. If your looking for something fun to do either on your own or with your other half we highly recommend Experience Days - they have tons of choice wether you want an action packed adventure or a luxury spa retreat they have it all.

I've linked this up with Friday Fancies and Fab Favourites

We were kindly invited by Experience Days to review their Pamper Days experience, no money has been exchanged and our reviews and words are 100% our own

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App Happy - The Pandora App

App Happy - The Pandora App

22/08/2013

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*In collaboration with Pandora

Sometimes in between sending emails, taking work calls, and the occasional social media check, there are moments in the day when our phones can do yet another thing for us, for example, shop.

Whilst the lunch break shop run is sometimes necessary, it’s not exactly appealing, especially if you’re looking for jewellery. Jewellery shopping is an art, by which the latest Pandora App is a masterpiece. So when you’re browsing for new charms for those beautiful bracelets for women, who says you need to miss lunch to do so?

Firstly, the whole catalogue is available to browse, plenty of gorgeous options, although slightly dangerous for our purses. It’s easy to use and ranges from all the classic Sterling Silver bracelets with the mix and match charms to retired jewellery with some great Murano beads. The shuffle option is fantastic to show a random selection of the Pandora catalogue for when “Jewellery” is your category. 

Secondly, anyone with a phone able to download an app has the ability to view and enlarge all of the high-quality images for a close up look. There’s really no reason to have to go to a shop and peer behind several other similarly mesmerised women. Although, I’m not one to deny the simple pleasures in life for which the app cleverly supplies the ability to “Find Store”. 

Pandora Concept store Cardiff

Finally and perhaps the best part of the app is to “Find Gift”. Imagine you’re buying a birthday gift for a friend (a very good friend) and you’re uncertain of which jewellery route to go down as the choice ranges from necklaces and pendants to watches. Let’s say you choose a bracelet. The type of material really depends on the foundations of this friendship as there is a price difference between the Sterling Silver and18ct Gold. So, therefore, we begin our present specification with our budget. It’s as simple as this, material and colour is a matter of choice. Before you know it you’ve got a black Double Woven Leather Bracelet for under £50 and a new best friend. And as for your own birthday, a possible option is to download the app straight onto a friend’s phone for optimum results.

The versatility of Pandora jewellery has not gone unnoticed by its large fan base, where the sophisticated simplicity can be worn smart or casual. If, like many keen shoppers you like to change in your accessories, swap around your charms for different ways to wear it.

Add to wishlist? Yes, please.

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Most Amazing Giveaway!

Most Amazing Giveaway!

21/08/2013

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We are co-hosting an amazing giveaway with Postcards from Rachel and some other fantastic bloggers with incredible prizes and advertising space, so if your looking for a boost to your blog than enter, it's super easy via rafflecopter



Postcards from Rachel: 1 month "Postage Stamp" ad space Lost in Travels: $10 Starbucks gift card Treasure Tromp: Ad space Simply by Serendipity: $25 design credit & ad space Living in Another Language: Ad space Northern Belle Diaries: $20 design credit & ad space Side Street Style: Ad space Rainstorms & Love Notes: 2 months ad space Stamp in my Passport: $10 Amazon gift card La Petite Lulu: Ad space Girlfriend Jill: $10 Starbucks gift card Life of A Sports Wife: 3 face scrubbies from Pearls N Stitches At Home with the Hinkleys: Ad space & $10 Amazon gift card Something Charming: $25 Etsy gift card a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Travel Throwback - Snowboarding Silence

Travel Throwback - Snowboarding Silence

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So a couple of years ago before I tore my ACL, I went with a couple of friends from Falmouth University on a snowboarding trip to Val d'isere in France. It was an amazing 10 days of pure snowboarding fun and a few nights of partying to boot. Over the duration of the trip, of course I took loads of photos but back then technology was not as reliable as it is today and I remember everyones camera's not working in the -16 degrees temperatures out on the pistes, which is why I love the two images below, they were taken on my old 1970's Pentax Asahi film camera and they capture a sort of silence and beauty about boarding off piste with friends.

I am still in the process of re-scanning these negatives and will share more with you soon, also joining up with the lovely Travel Tuesday linky over on The Compass Rose

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Doc Marten Cardiff - Highlight

Doc Marten Cardiff - Highlight

19/08/2013

8 comments

So I really want to highlight some local stores on the blog, as Cardiff is a really great city with a lot of new developments and going's on. I was really happy when Doc Marten finally came to town, it's a brand with such heritage and cultural relevance. Being a bit of a skater punk back in the day, Doc's were always the go to shoe to wear to any gig and I still love the brand today. The Cardiff store, which is situated opposite St Davids 2, in the City Centre, has an amazing selection, friendly and knowledge staff with occasionally guest artists decorating the walls. The did a collaboration with Frontier Tattoo studio a while ago - the same tattoo studio that did both of John's leg tattoos.

Whats even better is that have a great kids range and I cannot wait to get Mr A a pair sometime soon, I just think the miniature versions for both girls and boys from cribs right up to teenagers are super cute and on trend for children with a unique and strong personality, I mean how cool is this kid below.

I recently did an outfit post rocking my much loved Doc Martens, I paired them up with another UK hertiage brand - Fred Perry for an urban workwear look, what is your favourite Doc style?

That't me, rocking my Docs

I have not been asked by Doc Marten to mention them, I just love this store and wanted to share it with you.

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