Memories - My Teenage Bedroom

The other day on the radio I heard the DJ asking the listeners about the posters they had on their walls as they were growing up...and it got me thinking of my own bedroom as a teenager and the celebs that I had posters of!

I was (and still am) a bit crap when it comes to taste in music, as my regular readers will be well aware of! So you will probably have guessed already that the posters I had up were rather embarrassing!

My parents let me stick up pictures all over my walls, and I ended up with Blu tac marks everywhere. I was a big fan of Hanson and pretty much had a whole wall dedicated to them!!

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My other teenage crushes were David Duchovny (I loved The X Files) and Leonardo Dicaprio. I studied Romeo & Juliet at school and I remember going to the cinema to see the adaption with Dicaprio - I think I would have been about 14 years old. Then after that there was Titanic where I bawled my eyes out and fell more in love with Leonardo.

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I've tried to find some photographs of my bedroom back then but I can't find them - they must be at my sister's house as she's storing some of my stuff at the moment. I'll see if she can dig them out next time I'm in Aberdeen!

What posters did you have on your wall growing up?

Interiors - Inspiration from Villa Zenith

As I mentioned in a previous post, the interior of Villa Zenith in Portugal was a mix of modern and rustic. The house was amazing and has given me lots of inspiration for my own home.

A few of the bathrooms were 'secret' and were hidden in what looked like a large fitted wardrobe... very cleverly done and the kids loved it!

Anyway, I thought I would share some more photos of the house and some of the items that I've subsequently found online that are similar.

One of the Villa Zenith bathrooms

Eucalyptus Ladder by Out There Interiors at notonthehighstreet.com, £130

 Another rustic feature with natural wood was the heart stumps used as bedside tables which I loved...

Heart tree stump bedside tables at Villa Zenith

Natural Tree Stump Side Table at West Elm, £179

There were also lots of unique lighting features throughout the villa. 

A pair of pendants that reminded me of flowers, or maybe even jelly fish with the delicate beaded wires

Wisteria Glass Shade Pendant Light at Laura Ashley, on sale at £59.50

There were lots of wooden sculptures, like this bench...

A wooden bench at Villa Zenith... my son says its a tiger!

Wooden Bench by Woodartz

Weekly Wishes

// Fashion

I was in desperate need for some comfortable shoes for work... something smart, but something that I can walk around in easily as at the end of the week, when I have the kids, I do the school run and then make a mad dash for the office! So basically a versatile style that can be dressed up or down. I'm still trying to stick to a capsule wardrobe and I don't have space for loads of clothes!

Just a week after I started drafting this post, I found a perfect pair of ankle boots that met my wishes... ta da:

Teresa boots by Dr Martens

I've been wearing them every day since!!

// Hair & Beauty

My feet are in a bit of a state. So much so that the littlest asked what was up with them and why was my skin so hard. Yikes! I bought a little buffer, pumice stone type thing but it's pretty rubbish. I think it's perhaps time to invest in something a bit more powerful... the likes of this came to mind:

Emjoi MICRO Pedi Power at Boots

// Home & Interiors

My home office area has been improved lately due to my new Made.com desk, and as a result I've got some new shelves that need to be styled. I've been looking out for magazine files and haven't been able to find anything in the shops as yet that takes my fancy. I still like these ones from Muji, but I think I need something a bit sturdier. I like this one from Brissi, but it's very pricey at £29!!

Brissi Woven Faux Leather Magazine File

Hopefully I'll have my space organised and I can film another wee YouTube 'room' tour for you :-)

This was how it was before...

Interiors - Light Boxes

I love browsing Instagram for interiors ideas and I've seen more and more light boxes popping up.

 

I spotted that Charlotte from Write Like No-one is Watching has one (you'll see it here) and I figured you must be able to get them in the UK. I then found them at Violet and Percy, yay!

I already have some letter banners from Violet and Percy and I love being able to create personalised messages around my house... we have "Good Vibes Only" in the hall and "Happy @ Home" in the living room at the moment. I can't wait to get started with the light box!!

Home & Interiors - a Room Tour of my Daughter's Bedroom

For once my daughter's bedroom is clean and tidy, so I thought this was an ideal opportunity to do a quick room tour. For those of you that aren't regular readers, my littlest is 4 years old (going on 14!).


 

Let me know what you think!

If you're interested, her bedroom at the old house was featured in this blog post from my archives.

Sarah x

Home & Interiors - Muji

When I was in London the other month we popped into Muji on the King's Road for a browse. This shop is right up my street and there were so many things that I would have loved to have brought home with me (unfortunately there just wasn't enough space in my suitcase).

 

I really like the idea of this aroma diffuser. You can scent your home with essential oils and it's safe for around children and pets as there are no naked flames (I've already had an accident with one of the kittens when the singed the end of their tail on one of my many candles...oops).

 

Muji Aroma Diffuser, £45

 

I also really like Muji acrylic storage drawers. I had one of these when I was a teenager that I stored my make-up in, and it did get pretty messy and scratched so it eventually went in the bin. However I quite fancy a few of these for my home office to store stationery.

 

Muji Acrylic Three Drawer Box, £17.95

 

 

Keeping with the office organisation, I also love these brown card magazine files. I did have white ones from Ikea for a while, but these are more aesthetically pleasing to me. I've got three shelves above my new Made.com desk that I still need to style and I think these would be ideal for storing important paperwork.

 

 

Muji A4 Magazine Folders, £7.95 for a pack of 5 





Lastly, I love Muji travel accessories. They just seem to have this market sussed and looks like they have everything and anything you could want for travel organisation. I have a hanging toiletries bag which is super handy (think mine is from Superdrug perhaps or maybe Sainsburys), but this box one at Muji looks even more ideal as it has more storage for dinky skincare bottles.

Muji Hanging Box Case, Large, £12.95

 

Do you own any items from Muji?

What else would you recommend I check out?

Weekly Wishes

// Fashion

I'm in desperate need of a new pair of slippers as both of my pairs have got holes in them (so much so that one pair has already gone into the bin!).

I love the mahabis slippers - the upper is grey (you can choose dark or light) and then you can pick a pair of colourful soles... I quite fancy the yellow ones.

// Hair & Beauty

My skin seems to have worsened again... rubbish :-(

I ran out of Merumaya Luxury Facial Wash and since then my skin has deteriorated, particularly my chin. So I'm putting it onto my shopping list! I quite fancy trying the Melting Cleansing Balm too.

// Home & Interiors

I have a cheap set of lightweight cutlery that I bought from Amazon as a transition for the kids from plastic cutlery to grown-up cutlery. However, with it being cheap has meant that it's now ready for the bin; they haven't lasted well at all. So I'm now on the lookout for a new collection. Rick & I both really liked the gold cutlery that we spotted at Zara Home in London recently, but I'm not sure gold is a good colour choice given that most of my interior is grey, including the dining room.

John Lewis have a black set (which are dishwasher friendly!) and cost £10 for 16 pieces. Perhaps this would be a good interim set until the kids are able to use heavier forks and knives. They certainly look better quality than the ones I currently have.

Interiors - Children's Bedroom Inspiration

When my marital home was sold and I bought my own place I had to downsize considerably. Practically I just couldn't afford to maintain a house of that size on my own... the heating and electricity bills were crazy for a start. I'm sad to be in a smaller space with less impact. Interiors are one of my things... I just love interior design (I even did an evening course in interior design when I first moved to Glasgow). Although that said, it probably was good for me to move on and have a fresh start. 

I'm conscious that the kids rooms are really small. The littlest is in the smallest room. Anyway, I've been giving some thought about making the best use of the space that I do have, and I think it's probably time to sell the bulky single beds that I do have and invest in a cabin bed or midi sleeper of some sort. This way I can store plenty of her things under the bed and give her as much floor space as possible. She is four now so I think she's probably safe to be on a raised bed now so long as there is a barrier.

Unfortunately this bed is £2,330 at bobo kids!! But isn't it fab!

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This then got me day dreaming about all the other interior touches that I could add to make the space beautiful, and of course I've been pinning like crazy!!

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What is your favourite interior find that you have in your little ones bedroom (or yours for that matter!)?

Home & Interiors - Oliver Bonas

When I was in London the other weekend, I paid my first visit to an Oliver Bonas store. There were so many lovely pieces of homeware and accessories... I could have quite easily spent a fortune! I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite Oliver Bonas items.

Beatrix Teacup and Saucer, £10

Set of Four Pineapple Spoons, £16

Hexagon Tray, £39.50

Alphabet Copper Letter, £10

Luxe Drinks Trolley, £350

Edgar Wood Chest, £365 (made to order)

And look at the huge range of colours these cute Velvet Tub Chairs come in... all £445 each:

I resisted the homewares - main reason being that I didn't have enough space in my suitcase to take any of it home!

Instead I bought a few little things for me...

Luella Mini Pouch Purse, £12

Brighton Tipped Belt, £14

Spotty Pouch, £15

There really are so many gorgeous things... if you haven't heard of the brand before then I do suggest you take a peek!