Hygge Nook

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.

Shoeper challenge

I mentioned the Shoeperwoman challenge recently - a fun way to get those shoes out of their storage boxes and on to your feet. I photographed my footwear and was actually a bit suprised that it came to 17 pairs (not included trainers).

Here's a peek:

 

Well, I suppose 17 pairs is still quite a few, though not quite as many as I thought were knocking about. I usually wear the same few pairs in rotation; the flat winter boots are my go-tos at the moment (it's been a very cold winter) and I haven't been going out much at all. I've also come to realise the ballet flats are incredibly uncomfortable, I'd rather wear heels or sneakers. I also apparently like sandals more than anything else, which is surprising given that a British summer lasts about two and a half minutes.

What I hope to gain from this exercise is to put some shoes back into rotation that I don't wear - the red Poste Mistress mules are a good example of a shoe I love but don't wear, ditto the comfy leopard heels. Perhaps it's time to do the switcheroo in the office from sneakers to smart heels? I wonder how that will affect my dressing?

And those that don't get worn will have to move out and free up some storage space.

Actually starting the challenge though has been a bit problematic for me, not least because I have a sad ankle (I'm getting a tattoo lased off, it hurts) and have had a horrible allergic reaction to something so I'm not feeling so great. I'll post pics when I get started. In the mean time go to Shoeperwoman to see lots of lovely shoes and the challengees.

Teatime lamp

 
I've been stalking this lamp for a while. I just love its slightly crazed Alice in Wonderland tea party style. But at £100 it was just too much. Fortunately homewares stalking does pay off as I've snagged it for 37% off in the sale. Wow, it's easy to look clever with maths when dealing with the nicely rounded original price. Also, sale is a great word, isn't it? Not as great as free but I'll work with what I have.

The idea is that the lamp will be a fun addition to the children's bedroom makeover which will be commencing shortly. I also snapped up some star shaped fairy lights on sale which will also go in their room.

Thursday Three

+My favourite blog post of the week is, hands-down, Shoeperwoman Amber's roundup post of her shoe challenge. The idea was to wear every single pair of her shoes, with one of the rules being to jettison those that were left untouched. Amber has opened up the year-long challenge to other bloggers and you can find out about participating here. It's just a bit of fun with a very practical purpose: to get unworn shoes worn. I'll be dragging out my heels and having a go so do expect the occasional fashion post.

+My daughter bought me this necklace for Christmas. It was very, very sweet of her.

+I went in to Banana Republic for the first time last weekend. This is no news for US readers, but we haven't had the store for long in the UK so it's still a new thing here. I picked up a couple of pairs of work trousers for a song in the sale (about 75% off). Really nice clothing for an effortless smart/casual look.

 

 

Quick Fix Tuesday: Grey willow basket

 
I can imagine this grey wash willow basket in any home. Stacked with logs or blankets in the living room, towels in a big bathroom, odds and ends and draped with a dog's lead in the hallway.

It's £35 at John Lewis.

Waging war on the wardrobe

I'd like to introduce you to the shocking state that was my wardrobe. It stores, in no particular order, all my clothes, scarves, several shoes, a couple of jackets, numerous bags and some tat that has found a home in there. Some out of season or unworn stuff is on a large box on top along with out of season shoes. I have a little more storage elsewhere for boots, some other shoes, coats and dresses that are too long to fit in here. Let's not beat about the bush though. It's a disaster. I can't find anything. I've resorted to that old adage that I wear 15% of my wardrobe, 85% of the time, largely because of the disorganisation.

Here's the before snap. Weep with me.

 
 

And here's what a few hours work did for it:

 
 

So much improved. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Happy days. Of course, getting organised means being smart about what I wear and not having unworn or unwanted clothing taking up space. So, out went everything that didn't fit, out went everything that had a sagging collar or bobbling fabric, out went the cute dress I thought I would wear 'some day' but never will and out went the accessories that just weren't me. In fact, so much went that I ended up filling a giant sack for the NSPCC.

 

But what I had left with was great. Clothes I really wear, things that match, stuff I can find. I discovered things I had forgotten about so it was like shopping... for free. I recommend it.

Do you find clearing out as cathartic as I do? Do you like everything organised and in its place or are you a secret hoarder who is clinging on to things you don't really need?

Put out the lights

It's only day 12 in the Hygge Nook house of 2011 and already something has been achieved on my not too unreasonable 2011 house to do list. Let me introduce you to the ghastliest bedroom lights known to casas.

 

Let's just really drill home how phenomenally awful the lights are:

 

Pretty grim, right? We've lived with them for over a year. The shame.

And now let's say goodbye, see ya, adios! As it happened replacing the wall lights wasn't too hard considering Mr Hygge has some electrical knowledge and was able to remove them from the walls after taking care to disconnect the power supply to the upper floor first. We wouldn't want him fried, after all. If you don't have the skills, call a pro.

A little web browsing found two simple, stylish wall lamps for a bargain £15 each from Homebase. I wanted something very simple, non-dating and non-intrusive so a frosted glass shade was the way to go. As we're currently renters I didn't want to install something pricy that I would mind leaving behind so this price should ensure a very reasonable cost-per-use by the time we've moved out.

 

The light is a lot more diffused now thanks to the bulbs being softened behind that frosted glass, though it does throw the light up and is unfortunately exposing a great blob of dried paint a couple of feet above the one on the right that I'd previously never noticed in daylight. A small price to pay for a fairly satisfying end result. I hadn't really considered pairing them closely to the capiz chandelier so the fact they really complement each was more accident than design.

 

I'm not ashamed to say we both woke the next morning saying we both loved the end result. Sad, but true.

From A to Z bookends

From all the lovely things my daughter received for Christmas, these A and Z bookends have to the loveliest as well as thoroughly practical. (What did I say about no more typography? Let's ignore that.) S is very into her reading but unfortunately there simply isn't space for a bookcase in her room. These have solved a bit of a problem by making her most current books more accessible. (Alas, there are dozens more books in a big basket.)

 

If you have a six-year-old, or like me love having a good root around other people's bookcases (and I will squint at the screen to see which tomes are on my favourite bloggers' shelves) you might be wondering which titles are sandwiched between these chunky bookends. They're Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers, Darcey Bussell's Magic Ballerina and classics such as The Railway Children and Anne of Green Gables.

Which books do you remember as particular favourites from childhood?

Thursday Three

+My latest iTunes download is The Baseballs. This German trio do utterly amazing rock'n'roll covers of Rihanna, Katy Perry and the like. (Amazon.)

+I adore Lainey & Nella's room via Ohdeedoh via Enjoying the Small Things. I think it's the curved white shutters that clinch it for you. Gorgeous.

+Gilmore Girls Season 1. I nearly have the whole set now and can't wait to hunker down and just watch and knit and sink into Stars Hollow.