Bathroom Bliss

I am in the unusual position of having a week where I am not looking for a present. This rarely happens so I've taken the opportunity to go shopping for bathroom treasures for myself. I am about 99.9% happy with our bathroom - we've got all the essentials - but one thing it presently lacks is extraneous decoration - bits and bobs. Sadly, this is not the kind of bathroom that will take well to driftwood ornaments, signs that read "To the Beach" and great big letter friezes compelling me to "bathe" or "wash" and other such imperatives. Such things are very popular at the moment and rightly so. But if I tell you that this  bathroom has quite a busy patterned duck egg blue wallpaper and a dark brown tiled floor with white woodwork, tiles and suite you will appreciate that anything of that nature is going to make it look WAY too busy and quite probably smaller (God help us!) So the purpose of this post is to find things that are clean, unobtrusive and have a simple elegance. I'll need hooks, hand towels, artwork and ornaments for the window sill. Here's what I found:

1. Sailing On The Broads Lino Cut Print by Fiona Carver £50.00 (unframed)

2. Marie Antoinette Lavender Bags by Ingrid Storm £4.99 (pair) 

3. Metal Soap Dish by Rockett St George £4.95

4. Shower Curtain Hooks by Rockett St. George £13.00

5. Venice Shower Curtain by The Green Giving Co at Mens Society £38.00 

6. Forest Found Hook by Anthropologie £24.00

                                                            

7. Embroidered Hand Towels from Marquis & Dawe £7.95

Two For Tea

My toddler has been invited to her first proper birthday party so this calls for a big post.  In honour of her mate Esme's 2nd birthday (and because HM's recent insatiable interest in the content of my jewellery box has indicated that she is a real girl now) I will break things down into two important shopping areas. Outfit and present. Let's start with the clothes!:

Outfit

1. Wild Things - Funky Little Dresses by Kirsty Hartley £32.00

The retro look: So funky and pretty without being too pink and girly. Gorgeous!

2. Sister's Guild Bobo Choses Dress £35.00

The casual chic look: I can just imagine how gorgeous this would look with some white pedal pushers and bare feet.

3. Bethany Dress by The Eggcup Clothing Company £100.00

The classic elegant look: A touch more formal but absolutely to die for and the vintage rose print makes it truly spectacular.

4. Tutu by Cotton Fairies £14.99

The junior fashionista look: I love the punky-ness of this pretty little skirt casually paired with a faux-fur jacket and bother boots. Adorable. 

5. Pink Loafers by Skeanie £34.99

I've just ordered a pair of these for her along with a couple of other styles from the Skeanie website which now ships to the UK. Paediatrically-approved and much more stylish than anything Clarks has to offer, I anticipate becoming a regular. 

6. Port Red Shoes by Livie & Luca £34.99

They look sort of edible don't they? Love them.

7. Flower Shoes by My Little Boots £16.75

Reassuringly sturdy while being irresistibly dainty.

Gift

1. Wooden Biscuit Game  by Ella James Living £12.00

Fun, educational and so pretty. I love the vintage box too.

2. Personalised Embroidered Nursery Cushion by Big Stitch £48.00

Slightly pricer but timeless, tasteful and classic. Something to keep forever. 

3. Rubber Stamp Set by Lollipop Designs £7.50

Most two-year old girls will be getting into art by now in a major way. These collections of stamps in sweet little bags will keep them well occupied while creating their daily masterpiece.

4. Allsorts Button Bracelet by The Blue Pebble £9.60

Edible. That is all.

5. Owl Handbag by Vicky Davison £12.00

Pretty to display in a bedroom and perfect for toting about all those little everyday essentials like toy cars, bangles and small toys.

God Save The Queen

It's self-present time! Every now and then I get to have something too. I want a Diamond Jubilee souvenir  tea towel that I can frame and display in my kitchen to commemorate what I suspect will be the only 60th ascension anniversary celebration I am ever going to get to be a part of. I'm not into fine china and original art is beyond the budget currently so a tea towel in a simple box frame is the inexpensive, yet devastatingly effective, solution to my needs. That said, I have prepared a wishlist and  here are my top five designs:

1.  The Design Mould at Hirst & Hirst Living £10.00

Superb colour palette, the feel of a fine art print, a lovely rendering of St Edward's crown and makes appropriate and clever use of the wartime propaganda style without looking like yet another clone of the "that poster". Love. Love. Love.

2. Have A Gander on Folksy £9.00

Playful and eyecatching; I love the corgis and the monotone and distinctly patriotic feel. Incidentally, there are four other unrelated tea towel designs in their Folksy shop that are also little magic works of art and would also look fabulous in my kitchen. I particularly love the Bacon and Champagne ones. 

3. Sophie Allport £5.00

Exquisite illustration and I particularly love the little splashes of red and the subtle understatement of the handwritten script. Beautiful!

4. Victoria Eggs in collaboration with The Tea Shed £12.50

Here we have a beautiful landscape design available in a range of colours. I love the explosion of vintage fonts and the fact that they have the feel of old bank notes. Something a bit royal to read while waiting for the tea and cucumber sandwiches. 

5. Rachel K Designs £tbc

Finally, this design for a commemorative tea towel and four others like it we're featured in the blog of Birmingham-based designer Rachel Khor on 15th April. They are not currently available in her Etsy shop (at the time of writing) but the originality of the design and the pretty simplicity of it makes them well worthy of this list. Have a meander. This design is available as a set of four A4 poster prints for £17.99

God Bless You Ma'am!

She's A Lady

I've had a request for 60th birthday gift ideas for mum. An excellent challenge. I think we want to keep this one out of the ordinary. At the same time, what has this particular kind of special woman NOT received from her children over the years. I take up the gauntlet with the following suggestions and I hope that she won't be disappointed...

1. Ivory Freshwater Pearl Earrings by Highland Angel £ 22.00

Simple. Beautiful. Elegant. Timeless. The perfect gift for a lady. 

2. Personalised Word Art from Cherry Pete at NotOnTheHighStreet.com (from) £80.00

For the mum who likes to cover her walls with meaningful things, I strongly recommend that you go have a look at what Cherry Pete have in their trove. The work of art they can produce for you is can be available in a number of different finishes from unframed finish to xxl - stretched canvas.

3. "Crown" Cross Stich Kit by What Delilah Did £45.00

For the crafty mum (children please take note). Choose from a range of superbly detailed cross stitch kit cushions from this beautiful website. There are a number of designs from this boutique from insects to cupcakes to birds and cameos but, given the year, I like this one the best. And, as a little added bonus, What Delilah Did, offers free UK delivery. 

4. Perfume Bottle from Lavender Room £28.00

I've collected these for some years and my most recent one came from my husband on our last Anniversary. They look wonderful on a dressing table, window sill or adorning a dresser in a guest bedroom. They come in all shapes and sizes, new and antique but I think this one from Lavender Room is particularly pure and pretty. 

5. I Love U Mum Biscuit Card by Biscuiteers £9.00

A business that goes WAY above any beyond, the Biscuiteers' delicious edible greetings cards come in beautiful hand-illustrated gift boxes that can be recycled as trinket or keepsake storage. 

No Brainer of The Month

I just found this and it is, hands down, my new absolute ultimate recommendation for a new baby gift. Available now in a whole rainbow of colours from the completely edible baby boutique Tuppence & Crumble for £19.95. It's completely out of this world! 

Enough said.

Come Back Soon!

Next weekend we are going to stay with some old friends who have just finished renovating their London flat. It's been quite an enterprise spreading out over some eighteen months and it is, by all accounts, absolutely beautiful. I want to find something for the hostess to say thank you that they can keep as a house-warming gift and it's a bit of a tricky one because someone who pays this much attention to her habitat isn't going to want just any old trinkets on display. It can't be too big or over-styled. It doesn't have to match but it mustn't stand out a mile either. When William Morris (respectful pause) said: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful", he might as well have had this lady in mind. So I've gone window shopping and found a few lovely ideas for gifts that I hope will ensure we will be invited back....well, that and my toddler not breaking anything! 

1. Multi-coloured Cupcakes Art Print by Showler & Showler from £12.99 (unframed)

OK! I know I said not too stand out but what stylish kitchen wouldn't benefit from this classic little splash of colour. It's quite small anyway at 18cm x 24cm (which is not even as big as an A4 sheet) but there are larger versions available and the prints are designed to fit standard frame sizes. Pop it in a clean white contemporary one and wait for the gasp.  

1. Tray of Asparagus Candles from GiftIdeas.co.uk £9.95

A few years ago, a good friend gave me a single, taller version of one of these for my birthday because we had spent some considerable time together working setting up a fruit and vegetable co-op and had legumes coming out of our pores as a result. I may light it one day but I prefer to keep it on the windowsill of my kitchen along with a bit of Sophie Conran and an enamel bucket with herbs in it. I've never seen the like of it until now. In my view, this tray of miniature versions is a domestic goddesses dream. Devine as a shelf display and so perfect for your summer evening table spread. Tealights. Schmeelights! 

3. Personalised Address Stamp by English Stamp at NotOnTheHighStreet.com £16.00

This is a bit of an old favourite of mine because it pretty much covers all bases for a house-warming gift. Elegant and personal, it can top hand-written notes, stamp labels and finish off envelopes and never once fail to impress.

4. Fireside Gift Box from RE £26.00

I'm not generally one for gift baskets...unless they look like this! A simply charming box of delights from Northumberland-based home and vintage emporium RE. Each box contains an extending toasting fork, long matches in a galvanised metal container and a bag of marshmallows for toasting. Original for those blessed with a good old-fashioned open fire, I think this would also make a thoughtful engagement or wedding pressie too. 

4. London Landmark Book End from Rockett St George £18.00

I recently bought one of these as a birthday gift for my "present desert" of a brother and he actually uses and rather likes it. Choose from several designs also including The Gherkin and The Trellick Tower in a number of different colours. They are un-fussy and look really cool. Be careful though! The cost is for a single bookend which, to be fair, was made perfectly clear in the blurb, but which I completely missed. Maybe I'll get him the pair for Christmas...eek out the value of my find before the whole frustrating process starts up again. 

5. Beach Stone Doorstop by Fields of Blue at Bouf £54.00

Yes. I know. It's a giant pebble with a ring in it but you've got to admit it's a bloody magnificent thing. There are a couple of other splendid looking ones such as a bowling ball and an oak block on the site but this one has sunday lunch at The Ship in Newton Ferrers written all over it taking me back to whole wealth of happy childhood memories. It would look amazing holding open any door and my guess is, it's probably quite good at its job.

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Babies Who Lunch & Birds Who Fly

I just bought one of these Totseats £24.00 for a friend who is expecting her baby early next month. It's the sort of invaluable thing whose use you can only really appreciate AFTER you've had a baby which is why it is such a vital gift. Available in a range of lively fabrics and fitting almost any chair, this portable pack away highchair just slots into your baby bag. Put down that layette set and cuddly toy! This is the sort of thing a new mum really needs. And I was particularly pleased that I got this little beauty for a complete bargain through a half price offer on family deal site LittleBird. I've only been a subscriber for a couple of months and I've already used them twice. This is twice more than I've used a similar (discretion, valour etc.) site in the past two years! (I mean - how many electrolysis sessions and eyelash extensions does a girl really need!) A lot of their deals are confined geographically to the London region but not all - such as subscriptions and shopping offers. Anyway, I'm a fan and heartily recommend checking them out. Bon appetit!

Special Event. Special Baby

In two weeks we're off to the smoke again for the Christening of my oldest friend's daughter; the gorgeous Georgina.  Little G (as she is affectionately known) is almost two years old and I now find myself charged with the task of finding an original and meaningful gift for this very special little girl on this most special of events. Practical is (almost) totally out of the window on this one but I must confess that 'keepsakes' in the traditional sense of the word does leave me a little cold. Somewhere in between is the answer. Here are my findings...

1. Hunter First Wellies in Yellow £25.00

I recently bought a pair of these for my own daughter (now 16 months). They appeal to me not just because they are insanely cool but also because they have a timelessness about them that means that at some stage in the future they will no doubt end up in some keepsake frame of her early clothing that I will feel obliged to create for her bedroom. 

2. Cooking Play Set by Weaving Hope Fair Trade Gifts £39.50

It's not just because she's a girl! The fun kids get out of mimicry would make this lovely set of toys appeal to any child and I particularly love the fact that you can spread it out on a table top for extra authenticity.

3. Extending Ivory Pearl Bracelet by Highland Angel £22.00

I can't tell you how much I love this company's stuff. It's just out of this this world and what I particularly love about this bracelet is that it is suitable for a little girl but can become a piece of jewellery for a young lady too. Timeless genius! 

4. Dorcas The Duck Wooden Chair from The Little Ark £79.00

There are a number of different styles of this chair from The Little Ark but I've have a real obsession for egg yolk yellow at the moment. It maybe a bit of rebellion against girly pink. Choose from labradors, chickens, elephants and rabbits in a rainbow of colours and the parents will thank you because it will look classic and chic in the nursery amongst the forest of plastic. 

5. Personalised Framed Papercut by Kayleigh's Papercuts at FromTheWilde.com £45.00  

Girls names are so pretty. What better way to celebrate a new life than something that simply records the important facts. Intricate and elegant. Say no more! 

What? No Gift List.

On Saturday I shall be attending the wedding of a couple who have opted not to have a giftlist. This is highly unusual. A card containing details of a couple's gift list is as common to the invitation envelope as an RSVP postcard nowadays. It's more practical than anything else. Not doing so means you run the risk of some duplication amongst your wedding presents (it's another fondu set darling!) or worse, receiving nothing at all ; ). I'm always slightly put off by couples who ask for money to put towards something like a house deposit or the honeymoon but I do think that emerging modern alternatives can be both innovative and meaningful such as asking people to donate to a charity the couple support or to give wine or champagne to build a stable of bottles with which to launch a hundred celebrations in the future. So what to give? Especially when the couple in question seemingly have 'everything'. I've been window shopping to find some present ideas that will help push your name right to the top of the thank you card list.

1. Bespoke Sienna Bowl from Jojo Glass Design £140.00

Stylish, elegant and timeless. A total no-brainer.

2. "Nice" Biscuit Cheese Platter by Square Pear Furniture at notonthehighstreet.com £34.95

Apart from anything else, the design of this is utterly edible and the humour clear but not tacky.

3. Plans Chest Metal Top Coffee Table from The Old Cinema £595.00

Check out this site for a wealth of original, vintage and upcycled pieces in many different styles.

4. A Gourmet Chocolate Company Pizza from £7.00

Food: the second thing every couple wants when they get back to the Honeymoon Suite ; ).

5. Citrus Orange Tree from Trees Direct £49.00

Orange blossom is associated with love and commitment so you score points for originality and depth of meaning. 

Hello Baby!

Congratulations to two sets of our good friends who welcomed new little people into the world this month - a boy AND a girl! Phew! It's been quite a while since I bought anything for a newborn. I never realised until I had my own baby quite how much stuff you don't realise you need and, more pertinently, how much stuff you don't realise you don't need. Baby towels are a good example? Pourquoi? It's a small towel. Most people have an airing cupboard full of them already. And frequently, they are too small. Cuddling her up in one of these was like trying to wrap a jelly with a postage stamp. After a couple of weeks I was reaching for a big fluffy bath sheet and I have done ever since. The most practical present for a new baby, in my view, is clothing...preferably clothing that is a size 6 to 12 months beyond the size that fits them at the time. But SIDN isn't about being practical. Not exclusively anyway. It's about thrilling, stunning, "I never knew I needed that"-style gifts that really have the wow factor. Here are some firm favourites that are guaranteed to delight.

1. Odd Socks £15.00 from Sprogbox

I was given these by my mum and they are just wonderful. As well as being the most delicious combination of vibrant sherbet colours, you don't need to worry about pairing them up. You just grab a couple and go. Gorgeous!

2. Cupcake Baby Leggings £10.00 from Blade & Rose at NotOnTheHighStreet.com

My sister-in-law found these (and the red and white strawberry pair) for my daughter this past Christmas and they are every bit as gorgeous and good quality as they look. They look great alone or under dresses. I love the fact that the more she needs changing the bigger the cupcake gets! 

3. Jellykitten Busy Bug Squeaker from Baby-e £5.99

A brilliant handbag toy. These colourful bugs are the approximate length of a mobile and a baby will be  transfixed by the squeaky noise before having a really good chew on the antenna. I was given the black and white one in the centre by a friend whose son is four months older than my daughter with instructions to keep it handy and she was absolutely right. A compact hit!. 

4. Baby Blooms Baby Clothes Bouquet from £26.50

Such a beautiful and inspired gift and a great opportunity to add some colour to the wardrobe of a new baby who was an 'it' until the birth announcement was sent out. I received a massive pink version of this bouquet (and I've sent a few too). Her first pinks! The thing is, at first glance, you really do believe that it's a big posh bunch of flowers but closer inspection reveals scratch mits, babygros, vests, hats and socks all rolled up ready to be discovered. I think it took about an hour to unwrap them all and I then re-arranged the remaining foliage into a small bundle that now sits on the windowsill of my daughter's bedroom. Expect a phone call! 

5. Silhouette Print Romper from Organics For Kids £18.20

There's nothing quite as luxurious as a really posh romper suit. New babies live in cheap, white babygros for the first few months of their lives so every now and then it's nice to show them off in something a bit fancy and achingly cute. I was given a version similar to this with pink butterflies on it by a family friend and she looked absolutely adorable in it. There's a range to choose from for both boys and girls in lovely, bold colours. They make wonderful, luxury gifts. 

6. Letter Curtain Tiebacks £31.50 by Jonny's Sister

I love these. So simple and pretty and a good way to personalise a room if you are unwilling (or aren't allowed) to defile the walls. Do note that the cost is per tieback not for a set of two so you have the freedom to have more than one initial if you want or even an "&". And for those who like to go waaaaay above and beyond, matching fabric is also available if you're feeling crafty and want to run up a cushion or bolster pillow to match.