My Home Office Shed

I would love a room where I could go to work, write my blog posts, take pictures and keep my vintage pottery. I think a home office shed would be the perfect place to do all of this.

I would fill it with pretty scandi chic inspired gorgeousness, I love this desk and chair, both from John Lewis. The peg board would be great for styling and to keep my notes and to do lists safe.

Beautiful vintage inspired pieces would add colour and shape to make this a room where I could happily spend hours adjusting and readjusting pretty things for photos.

My Home Office Shed by themummydiary featuring a neon bedding

Neon bedding, Office chair, Desk, Delicate Landscape Frame - Copper,Mix Match Shelving Unit | Oliver Bonas,Panier boule, Office accessory / White Pegboard / BE HAPPY BANNER / Dark Blue Storage House 

This is my entry into the Ana Mum Diary and Tiger Sheds blogger competition, although I am sure my dream will never become reality, because if we were ever lucky enough to have an office shed, I am sure it would be taken over by my two children!

New House, New Kitchen/Diner, New Design

We are currently in the middle of a house move, we are moving into a new property and it has a fabulous kitchen/diner, this has led to lots of browsing for new dining tables and furniture to fit into the space.

First up Habitat, they have some wonderful pieces at the moment. I absolutely adore this dining table set, some chairs to snuggle, watch telly in and read a book for the kids whilst I cook dinner. Then this absolutely wonderful desk, which I have the perfect space for, it means I can use it to store my gorgeous vintage pyrex and cups and sauces in too.

The rug is bright, colourful and perfect for adding a drop of colour to the bare rooms. I am also in love with this dinner service, I love the fact you can mix and match and I think this looks better than having all the same pattern.

Habitat Kitchen by themummydiary featuring white furniture

Handmade wool area rug / Black porcelain plate / White oak table / Gray furniture / Upholstered arm chair / Stack furniture / White furniture / Spindle chair

Next up, John Lewis, a similar collection to Habitat. I love this table, chairs and bench, in fact I am loving the idea of a bench, more people can squeeze on when we have people round. The children both have Stokke Tripp Trapps, which add more colour and mean that we only need a couple of chairs.

I'd also add a beautiful rug and some fabulously colourful plates and bowls for a pop of colour to the room. For the computer, there is this brilliant and moveable ladder desk, an ingenious idea which I have the perfect corner for.

John Lewis Kitchen by themummydiary featuring a ladder desk

John Lewis rug / John Lewis extendable dining table / John Lewis dining chair / John Lewis bench / Ladder desk / Royal Doulton Fable Tableware

Alas though, I need a new vacuum first and there will probably be a few fixtures and fittings required so these will have to wait, but it's better to have an idea of what I would like, right?

Swimsuits for Summer

After having my two children I lost a lot of confidence when wearing two piece swimming costumes, so I brought one a few years ago with tummy control but after a few years wear and sun exposure it has seen better days.

So a little searching on the internet has led me to some gorgeous options…

I love this one from John Lewis, the floral print is bright and colourful, and very reasonably priced at £39.50 and on a plus side these would go with my Sun Jellies.

As is this one from Sea Folly also at John Lewis a little more expensive at £99.

This one from Boden is really lovely too, the colours and fit look great, only £59.

This one from Marks and Spencer is not only fashionable but has the tummy control I am looking for, only £39.50

And finally another from Marks and Spencer this gorgeous nautical stripe swimsuit which I think is fun and only £32.50.

As with most clothing I have no idea which will fit my body type so will need to go and try some on, although if I remember it like last time it won't be a pleasant experience…who designs the changing rooms in shops? Always rubbish lighting that makes me look like a lump!

I Miss My Coffee Table

I miss my coffee table! Why? Well, it started about 5 years when my son was starting to pull himself up on the furniture and crawl around.

All the breakables in the house were moved out of reach, the TV was attached to the wall, nick-nacks moved to the mantel piece and the coffee table was relegated to the corner of the room, no longer a place to keep hot drinks and remote controls, with the addition of a small chair, it became a desk/lunch table for our son.

But now with my both my son and daughter being old enough it would be good to reclaim some space, somewhere to put our drinks of an evening, somewhere to be home to the remote controls and some of the wonderful vintage books I have.

There are so many styles and types of coffee table to choose from, I particularly like this scandi-style coffee table, the shelf offers a great place to store magazines and the lines are beautiful and contemporary.

I also really like this glass top table, I am always aware of drinks being put down on tables and marking them, this would get away from this as well as not worrying when the children lean on it to draw. Again plenty of storage underneath, although we would need to keep it clear with it being glass.

And it is with that I also wonder are we the only ones who haven't got a coffee table anymore? Is this something a lot of parents give up when children arrive?

NB This is a sponsored post, however all words and thoughts are my own.

Summer Wish List

I have been dreaming about a holiday and summer for ages and have been spotting some gorgeous items in the shops and online so here are a few of my favourite things.

I have been swooning over these Salt Water sandals for ages, the only problem with them is which colour? I really love the red but for ease of going with everything I will probably go for brown, white or black.

I am loving UNIQLO at the moment, the Celia Birtwell range is divine, I really love this dress would look fab dressed up or down.

I love maxi dresses and this one from the new Kin range at John Lewis is really gorgeous, perfect for wearing in the day or evening.

And finally, the perfect beach bag from Le Papillon Vert also perfect for French markets ;)

Really loving the fabulous prints around at the moment, from butterflies to foxes and owls.

John Lewis Fashion Advice Review

I was looking for some new clothes for work and also for the #sbs event I am going to on Friday so decided to book myself in at John Lewis (Nottingham) for a free Fashion Advice session.

I was fortunate enough to be booked in with Lucy, she was an absolute star and made me feel at ease from the word go (if anyone at John Lewis reads this, she deserves a medal).

We spoke about what I was looking for and what sort of thing I was into and off she went to find a rail of clothes for me.

I sat waiting in the changing rooms with my sparkling water reading a magazine, it was so much better than searching through all of the clothes myself!

I don't particularly enjoy going clothes shopping and always opt for things that are the same, what Lucy came back with was a rail of things I would never have chosen in a million years. In fact it is safe to say I was a little disappointed that what she bought back wasn't what I would have picked

However, I loved everything I tried on! When she handed me this orange top from Reiss I thought 'mmmm, not sure' but when paired with a pair of gorgeous L.K Bennett or Reiss trousers it looked amazing.

It took me out of my comfort zone and I loved it, what she said was 'does it feel wrong because it doesn't look right or because it's different'.

I tried on a few other outfits that I wouldn't normally have picked and I came away feeling positive about everything, I got home and gave the family a little fashion show which they all enjoyed and loved everything too.

I certainly feel like I will look the part when I go on Friday, just have to hope everything else comes together.

Here are some of the actual outfits on me, excuse the headlessness of these shots but I look gormless in them all and also like the anonymity of my blog ;)

Below we have a gorgeous L.K Bennett top and Reiss Trousers with John Lewis pumps

I loved this gorgeous Whistles top and L.K Bennett high waisted trousers paired with a John Lewis heal (not heals as I could only get one shoe on...stupid size 8 feet or small shoes)

Another L.K Bennett shirt with L.K Bennett high waisted trousers again...sans shoe this time.

I really love this outfit, the jacket, trousers and shoes are John Lewis and the vest top is Oasis.

Overall I am in love with all the looks and if money was no object I would be buying myself everything, sadly though that is not the case and I have just had to buy a few bits for now. The quality does show though and the items looked and fitted amazing and I will definitely be going back next time I need a few outfits.

NB: I have not been paid for this review. I booked the session and have chosen to write this because the service and staff were brilliant.

Beautiful Baubles

So after a few years of going for a red and gold themed Christmas tree we decided that we would go eclectic instead! No bauble on our tree was to be the same and I scoured the shops looking for the most beautiful or tacky baubles possible!

Something that would make us laugh when we put them on the tree, we also had a few that would make us go awwww. Like our sons first christmas 2008 bauble :'o)

I have got my daughter the same bauble for this year (well pink with 2011 on) so that we can reminisce over them in years to come.

Last year we bought this beautiful one back from Disneyland Paris, its special because we managed to get it back in our suitcase on the train without breaking it!

Anyway, I thought I would look for a few extra's this year, I really like this one from John Lewis

and these, also from John Lewis

I have also seen a few from some lovely crafters that are not only lovely but very reasonably priced, these are from Precious Parcels

Finally, this is a garden centre staple I think and I have seen Gisella Graham everywhere, it is really good stuff though and I think one of our best ones is by her! I particularly like this one...

Today is Nespresso day!

Today we went and bought a Nespresso machine, the lady in John Lewis was oober knowledgeable and gave us some extra coffee for our machine.

I love John Lewis for there attention to customer service, I have never once been left annoyed or let down by a trip to John Lewis in fact I love going there for a coffee and a browse.

So welcome to the family little machine we love you, it's just a shame we couldn't have gotten ourselves a free George Clooney too ;)

Love is....a good cup of coffee and customer service ;)