Shiny Spring: A Mini Etsy Wishlist

My recent spring cleaning kick (read: never not mopping the kitchen floor and generally running up and down the flat like a mad woman) has had me really in the mood for a declutter, which in my mind kind of means a bit of a reclutter once it's all done - which means I've spent a lot of time looking around for lovely home things - I'm super into storage right now, so I can hide the stuff I wasn't feeling mean enough to get rid of.

Etsy was a pretty good place to start - and Pinterest, I've been 'pinning' a lot more than usual - and it's spring, and it's been winter forever so I figured I'd share some of my favourite Etsy spring finds with you - I realise they're not necessarily 'springy' but I love the bright pastel colourways that finally become acceptable once this lovely season arrives. I'm so looking forward to getting rid of the stuff that I never even used before I moved let alone since.


[Boy-Girl Tees]
Apart from the occassional bunch of flowers to brighten up the place, the only plant I have inside my home is one very sad looking spider plant, my mum did help me bring it back to life a bit and I'm hoping with time it will grow and now I'm hoping for more. I noticed how many lovely plants my Gran has, and I know it's my Gran and that's what old ladies do but it really lifts my mood to see greenery and I think I've learnt from my mistake.


[Handcraft Nepal]
The last piece of 'furniture' that I really want is a rug, and a nice one. This Etsy shop makes these felt ball rugs to order and I think they're so nice. I've seen a few huge ones in John Lewis but I like the idea of measuring and picking colours to match my space.


[Bluebird Lab]
I love the spring colours of this necklace, apart from my sweet Designosaur necklace I haven't really had any new jewellery for a little while and a big clear out is in order/in progress.


[Cabin + Cub Design]
Now I've gotten use to opening my sunroof, I really don't want to see the sun go again (see: this weekend's weather report), I think it's safe to say that this is a must-have mantra for anyone living in the UK - a perfect springtime piece though and great for April showers. Definitely big into wooden things at the moment, I think it's the traditional mixed with the contemporary that gets me.


[2nd Shot]
I've felt super-cool driving to work in my sunglasses all week, I love my sunglasses, but how neat are these ones? They're made from recycled skateboards and you'd never know, but now you do, I think that makes them even better!


[Julie Nolan]
I love this Leo constellation necklace, might have to put in on my birthday wishlist, such a cute idea.


[ARMINHO]
Just before Christmas I picked up similar educational fish poster, it now hangs majestically in our bathroom and I just love the style. This one would look great in our front room and I really like the original-looking holders.


[Nash Pop]
Eep! How sweet are this kitties? If it's not plants and flowers, it's nick nacks. I would really love the patience to start a collection, and the space.

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Have you been decluttering your life or at least your living space? Is getting rid of things to make room for new things something you do too? (I'm trying to get Moon to see my logic and justification, really I just think he hates me always tidying)

Meow! Roar!

I love getting post! Now that I have a full-time job, it's a good job that I'm not that bothered about waiting a little while to get things that I've ordered, the last two Saturday mornings have seen me visiting the local delivery office. It's so nice to get post when it's something you really like though, sometimes it feels like receiving gifts.

Last weekend's delivery was particularly good and it's been a little while since I've done a blog like this so I figured I'd share with you what I got. Although I'm pretty pleased with these 'gifts to myself', I'm really making a conscious effort to be good with my spending and it's been working out okay so far. It might be because I've been 'doing more' (and my dumb car) but I've been trying to work out how things seem to be harder now than they were when I was working at the cinema and it kind of has me stumped.


First up is this cute tote and purse set. I have reading blogs to thank for this one as after seeing the little one on Wish Wish Wish, I got a major case of cat-bag envy feels. As you can imagine I was only too delighted when I saw the set on ASOS Marketplace came with a large white cat tote too - had to have! This is definitely one of those times where it was worth looking up on eBay as I found this for nearly £10 less from this seller. I'm really glad I got it for the the cheaper price, firstly because I could never truly justify over £20 on a tote bag, how ever cute and secondly because although they're super cute they're pretty cheap-feeling and arrived really creased.

I can't wait to use them but I'm not risking it until the sun is properly out. I'm a little undecided over what to use the smaller bag for as I'm an 'everything needs to go in one bag' kind of girl and I could just about get my purse in it. I'm thinking about using it as a make up bag as my current one is a little tired but we'll see, that grumpy face is too good to waste!



My real-life funny white cat

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To celebrate the launch of their brand new website, the lovely Designosaur were offering great discounts on some of their necklaces, another offer too good to pass up given that I've been coveting their dinosaur necklaces since spotting them in Porta last year. I've been admiring their pieces on their Etsy page for ages, but I have to say their new shop looks fab and I'm looking forward to seeing even more from them.

They're already stocking in a few shops in Brighton and London and even The Natural History Museum (one of my favourite places in the whole of London). They've just announced their awesome lucky dip boxes which promises higher value than the retail price you pay and is guaranteed to include dinosaur EVERYTHING! ♥



This might be my new favourite necklace, I was worried when I first looked at it that it would be a little short but it's perfect and goes really well with collared things. Triceratops are my favourite dinosaurs too - then Brachiosauruses because their name is fun to say.


Because of the new shop, I also got this neat ring as a free gift. Moon won't be pleased because I always pick kind of stabby rings, but this one is so cool, I think it's worth it.


Already pride of place on my necklace rack.

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The last bit of lovely post wasn't for me, but I thought I'd include it because it's pretty cool. As I mentioned, Moon's Dad did a sneaky move to Northern Ireland over the Easter weekend and we're visiting him over the May Bank Holiday. As a moving in gift I found this British Railway poster for the town he's moved to online, I really like the design of these posters and I've seen them around for various places. As it's a new home, I figured Moon's Dad would like some art and we were pleased to confirm with him over E-mail that he really likes this and actually bought one for Moon's Nana while wanting one for himself anyway. We're hoping to pop it in a nice frame for him but as we're flying this time, it's probably a better idea to wait until we drive and take the ferry.

Travel Posters Online has a great selection of posters from all over, if they weren't so huge I'd buy one for everyone I know who lives in each different place. I love the nostalgic feel and I sure hope Portrush is as pretty as it looks in the picture. Despite going to Ireland a lot when I was younger, it was usually Belfast when we were in Northern Ireland because that's where most of my family was so I'm getting more excited by the day.

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Have you received any nice post lately? Do you like unwrapping things you've bought online like they're presents too?

Tuesday Tabs #35

Good evening,
It feels a bit like it's been a while although I know it hasn't really. I've been quite busy/lazy, which is usually the case. I've got a list as long as my arm of future posts but they can wait for a little bit, I'm hoping to get around to it all after a good night's sleep tonight as I've been a bit silly with my sleeping pattern recently and it's left me feeling exhausted by this time of day.

Did you have a nice weekend? We had a few friends over to eat chilli and peep over our fence at the fireworks display at Newbury Racecourse, it was a super way to spend Saturday night and was great to see everyone. My Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 arrived at the weekend too, I'm still getting to know it but I'm well and truly in love and am looking forward to introducing you.

Anyway, here are some of my recent Internet findings, have you found anything interesting recently? Now that Guy Fawkes Night is over, I'm well and truly looking forward to Christmas. Only six more Tuesdays to go before it's here, what a quick year it's been and yet so much has happened!

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[Wild Ridge Design]
Here's my first slice of Christmas for my blog. I think we're going to go all out with decorations for the little flat, even if I'm going to be away. I'm on the hunt for a wreath although we're thinking of making our own, the colours of this one are beautiful.


[MekaWorld]
Although not a big of George Clarke himself, I'm really into George Clarke's Amazing Spaces on Channel 4 at the moment, how perfect is this modular home? So tiny, but so great.


[Sea of Beas]
This bison locket is so nifty.


I know this has been used a lot in a lot of things recently but it's a really nice song, I've listened to it about four times today...


And this is another I've been listening to non-stop I almost forgot it existed until signing up to Spotify again last week. This recording is nice too.


[Michael Muller]
I spent a lot of time on Sunday afternoon nursing my head and perusing Michael Muller's awesome online portfolio. Obviously he's a pretty big deal but I was impressed with image after image and I like it when that happens, so I figured it deserved a mention.


[Alex M Lynch]
Right after I post this up and after I've had a shower, I'm actually going to get right back on sewing my own case for my tablet, but this one sure is pretty so if I do mess this up - in the way only not knowing how to use a sewing machine can - then this is always a pretty alternative option.


[Elukka]
Sometimes I really wish that I loved gardening as much as I love flowers, these flower pots are so cute!


IAmKritch]
I think it will be nice to get decorations from all over and build up a collection rather than buy a huge box of 'okay' baubles, this would have made a sweet addition to our Christmas tree but sadly it's already been snapped up. I also have my eye on the holiday armadillo.

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Link Love: ♥

Inside Nook and Cranny — This is a pretty recent discovery, but looks like somewhere right up my street, Nook and Cranny is an adorable little shop within Liverpool's creative hub, The Bluecoat and looks right up my street. Liverpool is somewhere I'd really love to head to for a weekend, this is definitely second on my list when I do get around to visiting - after The Beatles museum, of course.

Custom Photo iPhone Case DIY by Oh No Rachio — This is the most simple DIY ever, I can't believe I never really thought about it before. I've never really thought about clear tech cases before but they sure are a great way to help add your own stamp to things.

Container City — Speaking of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, the awesome Container City was featured last week, it reminds me a lot of Boxpark, such a great idea, I love the idea of discovering storage techniques as I'm not a huge fan of massive spaces.

Cat Nail Art Tutorial from Syl and Sam — My nails are super-short at the moment but I can't wait to try this out!

F***! I'm In My Twenties —Although there's a lot of personal anxiety surrounding this Tumblr blog, I think a lot can be said for being thrown head first into you twenties and not really having a clue how to react to it.

Cute Chipmunk Photos from The Dainty Squid — Kaylah is so great at photographing animals if I had my hands on this little guy he would probably just run away.

Prairie Charms.

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A couple of weeks ago, I was approached on Twitter by Stephanie of Prairie Charms to take part in their Project Blogger competition. Throughout July and August, for all beauty and fashion bloggers they're offering 50% off. With 10% of their proceeds going to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital's 'Kiss It Better' campaign, it was a hard offer to resist and I picked up two, although there were a few others I could have gone for.

By entering 'Project Blogger', I'll be entered into a draw to win a unique semi-precious gemstone bracelet and a chance to collaborate further with Prairie Charms in the future, it's a pretty exciting opportunity but the donations to GOSH's campaign are more than enough, I never really feel like I do enough for charity.

The bracelets are really well-made and maybe I feel like I should have thought more selflessly with my selection and picked one up for a friend like Maddie from All The Pretty Things. I really like the tiny details of these bracelets and they're great for adding little accents to an outfit, or just everyday wear. I went for Don't Regret Things You Can't Change and You Create Beauty With Your Attitude, Behaviour And Actions, they all have fun, long names. Their delivery was super-quick too, and came delicately wrapped with ribbons, always a thumbs up.

Be sure to take some time to check out Prairie Charms here.

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Tuesday Tabs #23

Happy Tuesday! I'm feeling much more pumped and ready to start the day than I was yesterday, so I'm doing this and I'm going to get stuff done. I'm wondering whether it's too soon to start thinking about changing some money over for my holiday and buying cute travel-sized products, I think I'll be waiting until payday, but I'm getting more excited by the day!

This week I've been thinking about Android apps; loving map-print things and thinking about how I should get my hair cut.

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Pug & Bulldog Cushions, £30, Urban Outfitters (1, 2)
These cushions are adorable, I don't think they'd quite go with my cat cushions but that pugs face is too much.


Cat Nightlight, £75, White Rabbit England
I've really been taking note of Fab since they launched their UK site last week. It seems to be a bit more decor-orientated than it's US counterpart, but I'm not complaining, they have some amazing stuff on there at the moment, including this cutie for a £20 off! White Rabbit is a children's lifestyle interiors company set up by sisters, Charlotte and Victoria. Okay, so this lovely bone china lamp is for kids, but I love it, they also have rabbit, owl and dog lamps that are equally adorable. They have some amazing other products too all featuring their signature critters, from bedding to crockery, I'm in love.


Was anyone else excited by the Monsters Inc prequel teaser? Everything Pixar does (except for Cars) is the greatest.


Do They Half? Shorts, $49.99, Modcloth
My fat bum wishes there were less hot-pants around so I could actually get away with going bare-legged in shorts every now and then. Why do these pastel lovelies have to be so nice?


Mapped Crusader Leggings, $34.99, Modcloth
I think that Modcloth might have lowered their international shipping, which is nice as I was pretty surprised after seeing a post Charlotte did about ordering a necklace from there and it arriving in a larger than shoebox-sized package. This recent development has had me seriously umming and ahhing over these, they're so good, I'd just be worried about them fitting so fingers crossed somewhere like ASOS will bring them over here to make for easier returns.


Map-print tee, £25, Tee & Cake for Topshop
I spotted this in-store and in terms of Topshop prices, Tee & Cake generally stick to being fairly good value and I love their designs. I just don't know about spending that much on a t-shirt at the moment, even it it would be lovely and light to wear when I go away and would go great with my green maxi skirt, it's a real thinker.

Atlas Bunting, £15.78, Gritty City Goods


This Bell Will Ring Necklace, £210, Rob Ryan for Tatty Devine
I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough of Rob Ryan's 'Bell' series, everything in it makes me feel like everything is good in the world.



'I Miss Being A Small Girl' Silk Scarf, £105.17, Rob Ryan
I love the colours of this, they're pretty patriotic. I do wear scarves quite often actually, especially when it gets to Autumn. I don't want to wish the year away though, but I would definitely like this scarf.


This is my favourite song this week, after seeing Brian Wilson live I was put off The Beach Boys for a while, but then I remember to forgive a little and just enjoy them.

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Link Love: ♥

Fab UK — If you're not familiar with Fab, they recently launched themselves in the UK after having Moon and I drooling over their US site for some time. The idea is to help you discover new designers, bringing exclusive daily deals. It's such a simple but clever idea, I love it.

Caturday Tunic

Silverware I Come From Pin — This is so cute, but I never really know how to wear pins or when I do, I forget about them and they get ruined in the wash. :(

Kris Atomic's iPhone Photo App review — I don't have an iPhone but it was useful for looking for the Android equivalent on the Google Play store as I wouldn't have known where to start. I've only just discovered her blog, but it's full of lovely photos and illustrations and it might be my new favourites, her drawings are fantastic!

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I hope to get Moon and I on a similar timetable soon, we are in need of a rug for the lounge. Do you have any fun Internet finds this week, I'm trying to keep away from my bubbling online shopping addiction, but it's always nice to look isn't it?

Tuesday Tabs #16

I've been quite anxious today, generally I feel anxious all the time anyway but today it has been particularly noticeable. Despite the tree-stealing builder's amazing ability to break both my Internet and phone line for most of today, I have made a lot of progress in my job hunt. I have some Visual Merchandising work lined up for next week, and an interview tomorrow. I am incredibly annoyed at today's first rejection though, down to not driving, again despite having 'the perfect CV', why even say that? I', trying so hard to not seem embittered, but sometimes recruitment agents can be jerks. Funnily enough both the roles I've just mentioned are off my own steam, despite my signing up with more recruitment agencies than I have fingers.

I'm still feeling pretty chilled out thanks to the bank holiday weekend. I also feel great about how much awesome food I've eaten in the last few days, but like I said, I'm also a bit nervous about my life in general too. Anyway, it's time for a de-clutter and I'm bored of this kind of chit-chat.

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'Today's Levitation - 06/09/2011'

(via Yowayowa Camera Woman Diary)

Your Eyes Lie All Cat T-shirt, £30, ASOS
Apologies in advance for the man t-shirt love this week, but why are they getting all the nice things? I know for a fact that Moon would never wear either of the items of clothing I've shown here, and they're far better suited to me. Damn you clothes fast, and damn you cool man clothes. This t-shirt is a bit pricey for what it is but I'm hoping it comes up when ASOS has one of their amazing sales/when my clothes fast can finally be over.

(via 9GAG)

With How I Met Your Mother being one of my favourite shows, I was really surpriesed to see Cobie Smulders step up to the plate in The Avengers when I saw it last week (how good is it?! srsly!), needless to say, afterwards, Tumblr was pretty great at providing the in-joke lulz.


Blue Car Print Shirt, £25, River Island
Reminds me of the Prada-inspired Primark skirt I was lusting after a few weeks ago, I think this is pretty purse-friendly of River Island too.


All Joy
Buddha Butter Dish, £12
Mr Food Face, £12
Glass Bird-print Hood, £7
I can't believe what an affordable goldmine Joy is, so many pretty things. ♥


Staffordshire Dog Brooch Set, $35, Gemma Correll for Made By White

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Link Love: ♥

Yowayowa Camera Woman Diary — It's not been updated in a while but I love this adorable online diary of Japanese lady, Natsumi Hayashi. So many photos of her levitating, such a simple, consistant theme that it really works.

Food Colouring Icing Chart — Amazing chart showing how to make a huge range of beautiful colours for your icing using just yellow, red, blue and green.

Colour-blind test nail art — I wish I had both the range of colours and patience to do this. It's beautiful, and a scary reminder that I should think about getting my eyes tested...

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Definitely felt like there was more going on this week than usual, but I guess I was wrong.