I go away to Yorkshire on Friday, so you’re getting this month’s fashion and lifestyle favourites a few days early. There’s a real mixed bag this month – from drinks and books, to storage and furniture.
First, I want to share with you my new desk, which I love. The UCLIC Create Desk & Drawer* (£99.53) is available online now from office desks company Kit Out My Office. It comes as a flatpack, but is actually really easy to build. It’s very sturdy too – it doesn’t feel like it’s a flatpack desk – it’s solid, heavy and great quality. I love that you are able to choose your own wood or colours for the desk top and drawer. I chose this Walnut wood, which I think looks really stylish. The drawer is large and deep, and the surface of the desk is big enough for my laptop and all my knick-knacks too.
I also got some new storage for some of my makeup. The Songmics Large Professional Vanity Beauty Case (£32.99 from Makeup Fix) is great quality and stores a huge amount. I’m using it to store all my foundations, concealers, primers and setting sprays; as well as my highlighters, blushers and bronzers that aren’t in palette form. It’s really handy to have everything togther like this to create my perfect makeup base.
As well as building desks and organising my makeup, i’ve also been getting a bit crafty this month. I’ve been learning to knit and practised a lot with some cheap pink wool, before starting off an ambitious cardigan project from Wool and the Gang. The Wool and the Gang Risin’ Sun Cardigan Knitting Kit with Milky Way Stripe Wool* (from £110 from Wool and the Gang) contains knitting needles, a ful pattern and instructions, and all the wool you need for your size. It’s going to take me a long time to complete this project, but I find the art of knitting very relaxing and that is focusses my mind. The quality of the wool is so beautiful to work with too.
I’ve also been making my own greetings cards and invitations using the Stampin’ Up Oh Happy Day! Card Kit* ($35 from Stampin’ Up). This kit makes creating stunning cards so easy as it comes with all the papers, embellishments and die cuts all ready. All you need to do is stick them on the blank and patterned cards, then use the stamps and ink to add your message. I’ve used Stampin’ Up kits before, but I particularly like this one as it’s so colourful and very much my style.
When I’ve been doing all these activities, I’ve been enjoying a cup of my favourite tea at the moment – the T2 Scot’s Breakfast Tea* (£7.50 from T2 Teas). This new tea was created to mark the arrival of their Glasgow store, and it is so sweet, cosy and warming. It’s made with oats, cinnamon and sweet caramel, and I adore it. It’s especially nice with soy milk and some honey. Definitely a perfect autumn and winter drink.
I also want to share with you a great gadget that I’ve been using when I need to take my own photos of myself – the Griffin Magnetic Joby Pod (£24.99 from John Lewis). At it’s most basic, it’s a great tripod with sturdy legs, that can be used with a mobile phone or compact camera. The legs are also flexible and magnetic, so they can wrap around things like metal poles, to help you take good photos. This pod als has Bluetooth, so you can take photos with just one click of a small remote. It’s great for taking your own outfit photos.
On the fashion front, I love the cool invention that is Wingz* (£15.99) – these are basically sleeves that attach around your bust, to give strappy tops and dresses some sleeves. These are great for people like me who want to hide their upper arms. It can also really transform an outfit and allow you to wear the same dress twice. They come in different styles and colours too. I think it’s genius!
Finally, I’ve been loving Marian Keye’s new novel The Break* (£9.99 from Amazon). It’s a touching, emotive and also very amusing novel about an Irish wife whose husband has a mid-life crisis and wants to take a 6-month break away from their marriage to travel the world. His announcement comes very much as a shock, and the novel follows Amy as she copes with him being gone. It’s all about how people change, and can you ever really have ‘a break’?! I love how Marian Keyes manages to find humour in often quite sad and upsetting situations.
Which of my favourites do you like the look of?
This post contains press samples, but all opinions are my own.
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