{Fairy Lights}

I'm a major fan of fairy lights! Now that the days are getting darker, I think it's time to bring out my fairy lights in my kitchen again.

I bought both my kiddies matching fairy lights for their bedrooms. I've mentioned them previously in a post, but hadn't actually gotten around to doing anything with them.

Cable & Cotton handmade thread lamp string lighting

Now that the kids are settled in their own rooms, I've got their lights in place. Both of them have them sitting on top of their chest of drawers. Out of reach is key as they're still really young!

The lights are fab - you basically buy your string of lights and then you can pick which colours you would like from a massive selection. On their website you can preview your selection to see how it looks. Great fun to be had (or maybe that's just the geek in me!). I bought mine in a gift shop in Aberdeen called Cloudy Blue. I bought blues and greens for my son, and pinks and plums for my daughter.

Even my friend Becky over at The Olive Dragonfly has a string of these funky lights (although she got hers on Not on the High Street) which she bought for her Christmas table, but now has them in her home office!!

Wouldn't they make a fab Christmas gift?

I'm thinking I need some for my bedroom :-)

{Fashion Wants}

Here's what I'm wishing I could buy right now from my Style board on Pinterest... perhaps I should be putting it on a list for Santa!

Seam Detail Trouser from Boden

Embellished ankle boots from Wrap London

Diamond Pyjamas by Hush - you can tell winter is fast approaching as I'm craving warm pyjamas to snuggle up in!

Mongolian boots from Celtic Sheepskin

Hooded Curved Hem Cardigan in Charcoal from The White Company

Ruched skirt by Me + Em

The Jade Print Dress by Mint Velvet

{Things I'm Loving Right Now}

It's been a loooong time since my last 'Things I'm Loving Right Now' post, but I had to share this with you...

I was at Wholefoods Market in Giffnock at picked up a bottle of Belvoir fruit farms Spiced Winter Berries Cordial and it's yum! I normally treat myself to a bag of handmade fudge from the Wee Fudge Company (delicious fudge & I'd highly recommend it), but in an attempt at being healthier I thought I would buy this instead. I'm not feeling particularly great at the minute, and have a bit of a cough. When I'm ill I love nothing more than a hot Ribena (yes, childish I know, but to me it's just lovely!!) and this is my new grown up version of a hot Ribena!! It's also got me feeling very festive... that and the cold, dark mornings of late :-/

It's also on offer at the moment - bonus!

{Moo! Bedtime milk}

Today I decided that I was going to ditch the baby bottles and make the move to sippy cups for my children's bedtime & morning milk.

We bought two Cow Cups at the supermarket this morning and they both seemed really excited about their special new cups!

I had envisaged that the toddler (3 years) was going to be harder to persuade than the baby (16 months), however, it ended up being the opposite way round. My son drank his milk beautifully and even asked for the lid to be removed. My daughter on the other hand wasn't keen on the cup. I was determined not to go back to the bottles though, and I gave her some milk in a different cup in case it was too difficult for her to get the milk out of the Cow Cup. She didn't drink the same volume of milk that she would normally from her bottle, but she at least drank some and is now happily asleep in her cot. Result!

Moo! The udderly brilliant Cow Cup

I'm now going to head to the kitchen and hide away all the baby bottles. I won't throw them out just yet, just in case!!

Next up is getting rid of the toddler's dummies and my thoughts are that we'll give them to Santa!

Can't believe how quickly they are both growing up! I've no longer got two little babies... I've got two very independent, confident toddlers on my hands!!

Daughter in her 'coorie doon' pyjamas! (that's me in the background looking horrendous!!)

Say cheese!!

And look what I've just spotted... how cute are these little bird cups!!! They come in green, blue or pink and are suitable for 6 months plus.

Tweet! The highflying Bird Cup

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{What I Wore Wednesday}

Joining in again with Transatlantic Blonde for her 'What I Wore Wednesday' blog hop.

Here's what I wore to work yesterday:

Zoe Knit Dress by Baukjen in Berry

Metal bow front belt from Warehouse

I teamed my dress with black tights (M&S, of course!) and black Russell & Bromley shoe boots

Here's the dress on the Baukjen website... I'm thinking I should try a low slung belt rather than round my waist... watch this space!

{35 at 35: Wine Tasting, Check!}

The other night I went along to Wholefoods Market in Giffnock for a Cheese & Wine Tasting session as part of FeastRen Food & Drink Festival. Wine tasting is on my 35 at 35 list, and so that's me able to check another item off the list! Whoop!

I had a great night! Both my friends who were supposed to go with me pulled out at the last minute, and I was a bit reluctant to go on my own but I'm really glad I did.

I wore another outfit that the personal shopper chose for me: orange sleeveless top from Oasis, grey jacket from Oasis and black jeans by The Kooples (excuse the mess in the living room - I was in a rush and left tidying up for another day!!)

My tasting station....!!

The evening was themed 'A Taste of Spain' and so the cheese and wine selected for us were all from different regions in Spain. I don't really know much about wine, other than it gets me drunk, so I was looking forward to picking up some tips from the Wholefoods staff who are so knowledgable. I'm also a novice with cheese so it was great to be talked through everything and try new things. 

First up was a Mahon cheese which was served with Amontillado sherry and we also had some fresh figs which are in season right now. I have to say I wasn't a fan of the sherry. It was really strong, and I didn't finish my glass (probably just as well with everything that was to follow!).

Murcia Alcino goats cheese was up next served with a dry rose wine (Senorio de Sarria No.5). The cheese is washed in red wine and it was quite a mild cheese, and a little nutty in taste. The wine had lemon and strawberry tones apparently (I obviously need some more lessons in wine tasting!).

This was followed by a Manchego cheese made from ewe's milk which was served with quince jelly and fresh pear. To drink we had a rioja (Ijalba 2007) which was slightly oaked. I wasn't a fan of this wine (but I drank it anyway!!).

Next on the agenda was Garrotxa which is a semi-soft goat's cheese and we had this with Godello (a white wine) and some almonds. I think this was my favourite of all the rounds!

We then had another goat's cheese, this time it was Valdeon which is a blue cheese. I'm not a fan of blue cheeses, but I did try it and found it ok. We had this with another white wine, Albarino and we also had a taste of a Wyld Wood pear cider.

Last up was Monte Enebro, another goat's cheese, which was served with a French red dessert wine, Maury (which we were told was like Ribena for grown-ups and it was lovely!). 

We also had an extra glass of wine, Mr Smith, which is an Australian Shiraz. Cat, one of the wholefoods buyers, had said that this wine was like a 'hug in a wine glass' and that we had to try it. I'm not normally a red wine drinker, but I did really like this and the bottle is very stylish looking. 

Right, what to attempt next on the list.....??

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{What I Wore Wednesday}

A very quick post for Transatlantic Blonde's What I Wore Wednesday blog hop.

Here's what I wore to work yesterday...

Glasses by Dior

Cream dress from M&S (came with the belt)

Black tights from M&S

Black shoe boots from Russell & Bromley

Gold bracelet was my mums

Gold earrings from Wallis

Nails are painted in O.P.I. Are we there yet?

{Fabulous Finds: Gift Ideas}

Have you spotted the mince pies in the shops already??

In the run up to Christmas last year I posted a few gift ideas for babies and toddlers, and more recently I've posted a few homemade gifts. I've also shared some ideas for gifts for the daddies here in my Father's Day post. I'm already starting to think about Christmas gifts for friends and family this year and thought I'd share with you a few of the ideas I've been having so far...

I mentioned the Cox & Cox popcorn bowls in a previous post, but this year Cox & Cox also have a retro Stove Top Popcorn Maker for £32. What a great gift that would be for a family with slightly older kids... popcorn maker and a couple of popcorn bowls for movie night!

And if you haven't already seen it, be sure to look out for Disney's Prep & Landing on the TV over the festive period. It's absolutely brilliant and my eldest loves it! So much so that I bought it on DVD last year.

Disney's Prep & Landing

I'm a stationery geek and am a sucker for cute notepads, pens, pencils, ribbons etc!!

How cool are these propelling pencils from Present & Correct...

Team a cute pen or pencil with a wee set of notecards and you have a fab gift for a friend, neighbour, teacher, or an older child. I'm loving the stationery sets at Meri Meri as well as their List Maker notepad!

Apple Stationery Set at Meri Meri

On etsy you can also get some amazing personalised stationery sets which make ideal gifts. How cute are these cupcake notecards by lfhstudio....

Personalised Cupcake Notecards

Even though at the moment I don't cook often from scratch, I'm keen to encourage my little ones into the kitchen. I love these cooking utensils by Head Chef. They're functional and fun at the same time!

Head chef spoon

And how cute are these mini jelly moulds! Perfect size for toddlers and little kids! I managed to find these reduced in an online sale and gave them as party favours for my daughter's first birthday for the older kids.

Mini Jelly Moulds

Back to Cox & Cox again, as I'm also loving these Letterpress Cookie Cutters. These would be ideal as a gift, or if you are making festive biscuits for the neighbours you could personalised them.

Cox & Cox Cookie Cutters

Right, that's all for now - but be sure to come back as I'll post some more ideas in the lead up to Christmas... Can you believe it's September already?!?!!