David O'Doherty - Life

A Home Made Meal

Tuna pasta

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Lighting by House of Fraser and Tug Competition

House and Fraser and Tug are running a competition for one person to win a lamp! The lucky winner gets to select their choice from a variety of six very different lamps - ranging from floor-standing to table-top, and in style from modern to chic to retro. To enter, you say which lamp you like the best, what your style is, and where you would put it in your home if you won.

It was quite difficult narrowing down which lamp was my favourite - they were all so lovely... very different styles, but each of them would look amazing in a variety of places and each of them appealing and stylish. Narrowing down just the one style was also difficult! I think I enjoy different aspects of each of those three styles. In the end, I have selected lamp number one!

Cage Tripod Floor Lamp £156.00 (reduced from £195.00)

I absolutely love this lamp - it's sort of modern and retro and vintage in style all at once! I think this would be listed as a modern style for competition purposes though. It's quite a statement lamp, I don't really have anything else in my home that looks like this, but it's also quite a simple and easy to look at piece. A number of my relatives have all been involved with photography - whether as an occupation or as a hobby - and this lamp reminds me a bit of the old fashioned equipment and spotlights that I grew up seeing.

My personal style is a bit mixed really. I love modern, minimal, earthy, rustic, quirky, practical, stylish, eclectic, and geeky. I enjoy retro. I absolutely adore vintage - I run my own vintage jewellery company, and regularly have trouble 'not' keeping all of the different pieces I come upon! My bedroom is a mix of creams and greys in gentle, feminine and vintage styles. I love it. In thinking about where I need/would like to put a lamp, I have realised that I have different priorities for different areas of the house. Upstairs rooms can be a little luxurious, plush... downstairs should be much more straight. Comfortable, but uncluttered and practical.

Obviously a floor lamp takes up a bit more space than a table lamp would do - but I think this lamp would look fantastic in my living room. It has quite an earthy, rustic, laid back feel - but also a designed, modern and timeless one. There are original photos on the walls from my professional photographer family member, and rounded (ish) black glass end tables and accessories (such as the vase pictured below) and other items.

My lounge is a bit of a work in progress - it's getting there, but there are a few things missing still to make it perfect. One of these things is LAMPS. There are no lamps. Just the one ceiling light, which is the same one that was there before the room was redecorated - a slightly dated looking fan light. It doesn't really go with the rest of the room, and the light it gives out isn't great. It's quite a big room, so it could probably do with some lamps to help cover the different areas and angles. Living in the countryside, it gets very dark in the evenings/at night - and you can really tell that the lighting in this room isn't the best - so having some good, or at least additional, lighting in there would be brilliant.

There are also four bookcases in my living room - some with books, some with other mixed media (DVDs, CDs). It would be nice to have a good lamp in the room to use when curling up with a nice cup of tea and a book!

While entering this competition, I thought I'd have a look around at some of the other products available at House of Fraser - and I found some other amazing lighting products I'd love to have too. I tend to have quite earthy tastes, and I enjoy including slightly quirky items around my home. Click on the links below to visit the store pages.

Above: Linea Pineapple Table Lamp £32.00 (reduced from £40.00, also available in blue and black)

Below: Living by Christiane Lemieux Parrot Table Lamp £80.00

Above: Living by Christiane Lemieux Maya Ceramic Table Lamp £80.00 (reduced from £100.00)
Below: House of Fraser Gemini Candlestick Lamp Pair £64.00 (reduced from £80.00)

You can find details of the competition, and view the different lamps on offer, here.

A Bit of Baking

Blueberry and Chocolate Muffins

Marmite Dog Treats

Gingerbread Men

Iced Cinnamon Rolls

September Outfit Wishlist

With the summer coming to an end, and a few formal outdoor events to attend over the next month or so, I thought I should put together some outfit ideas! My first event is an outdoor wedding ceremony.

This dress is from Dorothy Perkins - in a nude/cream colour with large black spots. I love polkadots, and these larger dots are really lovely. It's a midi length dress, which I really like, so it will sit below my knees. I also really like the high neckline and shoulders, and the slightly retro shape of the skirt! It's suitable for a formal event, without feeling too stuffy or serious at the same time.

Dorothy Perkins Jolie Moi Black Dot Full Circle Dress £49.99

I love these shoes! Nude is such a great colour for shoes - it goes with everything, so these are super practical for a range of events. Standing around for hours at a time can make my feet ache, so I was after something a bit more comfortable to walk around in... so wedges are a sensible choice. Wedges are always so comfortable, whilst also looking great and adding a bit of height at the same time.

1 SpyLoveSpy: Stellar Wedge Heel Mary-Jane Platform Shoes in Nude Suede style £24.95

I plan on teaming these all up with a lovely lacy cream shawl. What do you think of my choices?

Summer Outfit

I recently entered a competition to win a pair of designer sunglasses from Valley Optics, who have teamed up with Jones and Jones to run the competition. To enter, you had to put together a summer outfit - worth up to £500 altogether, and with links to the items you selected (including a pair of sunglasses and a dress). My final outfit selection is completely different to what I had expected it to look like before I started, but I do like the final result. It's quite a flexible outfit - suitable for wearing in a range of different ways and at a range of different places!

I chose a pretty cream lace dress as the basis for my summer outfit. I love lace, and cream, and this dress is so pretty. I especially love the collar and the floaty skirt.

Jones and Jones Poppy Cream Dress £60

My initial thought was to pair the dress with a light and floaty shawl or kimono - there are some really beautiful pastel and floral printed pieces around lately, and something light would be just enough to keep your arms warm against any nippy breezes without being too hot or heavy. In the end though, I decided against that completely and went with this contrasting black leather biker jacket! I love the black, and the rougher style against the cream and delicate lace. The angled zippers and studs also add to the overall effect. This jacket takes the outfit to new style areas and makes it suitable for a wider range of events... for evening-type events as well as more casual day-time ones. It would also look good just resting over the shoulders when it's a little warmer... and it would help with keeping warm on those not-so-summery summer days here in the UK! It's quite rock-y, I really love this jacket paired with the pretty dress!

Black Ripple Leather Biker Jacket £120



Gant Sunglasses Roger £80

The sunglasses I chose were these black 'Gant Sunglasses Roger' from Valley Optics. There were lots of really nice designs and styles to choose from! They had a few pale green tinted ones I really liked, but they had larger shaped lenses and I really prefer the smaller styles. The trends lately have been for huge aviator styles, which isn't really me. These rounded rectangular ones in black go really well with the jacket and dress, I think, and would be perfect for summer days and evenings.

These black studded boots (below) have been on my wishlist for such a long time! I love the buckles and studs, and the design of them. I have also seen them in a dark/mid brown colour, but they only seem to be available in black at the moment. I like these in black for this outfit anyway - and would look great with the dress, with or without the jacket! They would work with this outfit with some lacy cream coloured socks, or perhaps a pair of novelty star-printed tights (Sheer Star Tights £4).

I also really love this watermelon clutch purse. I wasn't sure whether it would work with this outfit, but I think it looks quite nice. I absolutely love watermelon and have really liked seeing all of the funky fruit prints around lately! I like quirky things, so this fits pretty well!

 

Joe Brown's Stunning Studded Worker Boots (£49.95) Watermelon Clutch Bag £9.99

 

Accessorize Enchanted Floral Bib Necklace £25 Cream Hair Flower £1.15

Dream Room

Good to be Home, a new online home and garden magazine, has launched a competition to win £750 of John Lewis vouchers in partnership with Heart Home and LittleStuff.

To enter, you simply design your dream room with pictures and details of the things you love. You can choose between a bedroom and a living room. I choose to design my dream living room, as I've not long redecorated in my bedroom! I had such a fun time looking around online and finding lovely bits and pieces to gather together and I really love my final room. It's quite easy on the eyes, but with lots of personality!

My style in general is quite natural, I think. I love earthy colours, florals, prints, plants, wildlife and animals. I love great big windows that look out onto big green views. I would have so many leafy plants in my home if I could. I also love slightly quirky things, books and fruity scents. My favourite colours are pink, yellow and grey. I have so many books and tidbits... so storage is always important for me.

My main three features for a room are

1. Comfort. It has to be comfortable to be in and spend time in.
2. Practicality. It needs to be well thought out (eg. lots of storage, be suitable for my 6 pets, easy to maintain, etc).
3. Aesthetic. It needs to look nice!

Lara wallpaper - taupe (£12.99)

Mellow Green paint (£26.99)           Dove Grey paint (£18.99)

Golden Oak flooring (POA)

Arctic Cream Rug (£159)

Maharani Coffee Table (£225)

There is also a smaller End Table in this same style, sideboards, bookcases, other tables, and much more. You can see the full range at John Lewis here. I really like the dark wood, the details on the sides, and the rustic design! As well as this coffee table I'd definitely have a couple of the matching end table, the larger sideboard and a few bookcases.

I really love the ruffles around the edges!

 Louise Cream Leather Italian Sofa (£1,200)

Owl lamp (£19.99)  Woodland Retreat Bird Clock (£12.59)

Animal Throw (£5)                               Elephant Cushion (£10)

Image from Natural Photography

What do you think of my room?

Plants Update

Thought I'd show you how my live plants are doing. As mentioned in my previous post, they were all potted out and have been sitting in a sunny spot next to the study patio doors - doing well, mostly, and waiting for the weather to improve a little before moving outside.

Above: three varieties of chilli, moderate to very hot. Below: the tomatoes are not happy.

Sadly the tomatoes haven't been doing very well at all! I'm not sure why they haven't worked - especially since the other plants are all doing very well. Aside from this one stubborn green stalk, the plants are all brown and dead looking. I'm hoping that this little plant will yet transform into a nice tomato vine, or something will emerge from underneath the soil, but I'm not going to hold my breath. This is the only area that isn't doing well - it's a shame. I'll probably need to get some more tomatoes before the summer.

One of the pots with Tree Lilies. These are growing really well - very green and leafy. I'm not sure what colour they will be when they flower, so that is a nice surprise to come in a few months. These will need moving into separate pots soon.

More Tree Lilies in the photos below.

Birthday Money Spree Haul

Over the last few weeks I've been volunteering my Saturdays at a mobility-based charity in Chelmsford (Essex). Initially doing a full day, to provide cover, I've been doing half days more recently (cover not needed) and then spending a few hours looking around the shops on the high street. I had some money that I was given for my birthday a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd see if I could find any nice bits and pieces to buy.  It's been such a long time since I last went shopping! I don't do a lot of shopping. And when I do, mostly, I buy bits online - it's easier and quicker to fit it in with day-to-day life, especially from where I live since I am out in the sticks.

I thought I'd share a few of the bits I picked up...

I've seen this owl purse a few times now, but had never really taken the time to stop and look at it properly. I love owls, and have been looking for a new purse for some time. It's such a good purse! It's quite large - bigger than my other purses (which are those long, big leather ones) - and quite thick as well. I'm not sure what the material is, as I can't find a label and the website just says textile, but it feels pretty sturdy and hard wearing. It fastens with a zip - there are no additional poppers or magnets or straps to bother with.

I really like the inside - there's plenty of space for everything you need! I've managed to cram all my rubbish inside, and there's still lots of room left! I'm one of those people that tend to carry around far more than they need all of the time. So lots of space is super useful. There are less slots for cards than on most/some of my longer leather purses (there are four on each side/eight slots), but the coin pocket in the centre is much bigger - with space to hold more than just coins (keys, memory sticks, etc). I'm not really worried about the card slots anyway as I have a separate RFID multi-card holder, and I tend to keep my different cards all in there. But these are useful for store-type cards (nectar, library, etc) or business cards, perhaps. There is also a pocket behind each of the card areas on each side for notes, receipts, shopping lists, etc.

The best thing though is the high sides! You can see them on the photo above. It's a simple thing really, high sides, but it makes such a difference! I've not seen a purse with high sides before, as least not as high as these, and it makes the contents so much more secure and private. You could quite easily open your purse in the middle of a busy shop and know that nobody can see anything at all inside except for you. It also helps to make sure that everything inside is nice and secure. I really like that. Plus, it's owls!

This purse cost me £6 at Deichmann Shoes in Chelmsford. I choose one with a cream background, but there were also ones (same print) with a mid grey, or navy/dark blue background as well. The navy one was a little dark for me, but I really liked the grey one as well. 

While I was there, I had a look around at some of the shoes and got these (below) at the same time.

Most of my evening/occasion shoes are pretty high, so I thought I would invest in some nice flats for those more-walking/hills-than-I-expected trips out! These white ballet pumps have an elasticated back, and studded toe. I've had a few 'Essex girl' comments already because of the white, ha ha, but with a summery skirt or some denim, these are ideal for more casual days out as well. And they're perfect for packing away to take on holiday. They were reduced from £14.99 to £7.49. I also saw these flats at the same time (though, they did look nicer in the shop), but they didn't appear to be available in my size. I really liked the pastel toe though, so I might pop back again next time I'm in the area.

I also bought a couple of tops from Bonmarche. I'd not been in any of their shops before - and there's so many pretty things! It's a good range of sizes as well - with sizes up to UK24. The lovely butterfly and lace neck scarf I got for my birthday the other week I think must have come from the same shop as they had other really nice ones as well. I'll post a separate blog post about these soon.

I also made a stop at another shop I'd not been into before. LUSH is a cosmetics company that makes all of their products by hand, and actively works and campaigns for various causes. They make a variety of different items from bath and shower gels, bombs, lotions, shampoo and so on to perfumes, hair treatments and make up. Their packaging and shop window displays feature two boxing hares with a 'Fighting Animal Testing' message. An issue close to my heart - and one amongst a number of other campaigns and causes that they are actively involved with. The packaging too, is almost entirely paper and so easy to recycle.

I bought a few bits to try out for now, but imagine I'll be getting quite a lot from here in future! One of the things I've been trying to do over the last few years - slowly, but steadily - is to reduce/remove products that are less natural, or poor quality, unethical, etc, from  my life/diet/and so on. Some ways are easy and simple - others are not so, and take longer to achieve. I'll post more on this in a separate blog post too. So LUSH ticks a number of boxes - especially since the majority of their items are self-preserving, and so they don't need to add chemicals as other similar products do to make them last longer. The products can be a little bit more expensive than the cheaper standard bits you might buy in a supermarket, though not always, but they are completely natural and good for both you and the environment. They are also freshly made by hand, ethical, and some of the money goes towards campaigns and good causes. I also found that my dogs - who usually shy away from any scented bath bits I usually have - have taken to the smells of these items with relish! So that tells me a lot about the other bits I've been buying...

Anyway. Here's what I got:

This Sweetie Pie shower jelly smells amazing! And it makes your skin feel so so soft! It's a dark purple and sparkles mix that smells of fresh cherries and blackcurrant. It was also available in Dirty Springwash - a blend of spearmint, thyme and menthol - but I preferred the smell of this cherry, coconut, bergamot and blackcurrant one. It is made from carrageenan seaweed (forms the jelly) Advertised as 'the love child between shower gel and soap', this is good for your skin - and you can even use it on your hair and scalp. One of the few LUSH products that uses plastic packaging - you are encouraged to either reuse the pot, or return it to the store for them to reuse. This cost £3.25 for a 100g pot, but it is also available at £6.75 for a larger 240g pot.

I also bought two bath bits - a May Day bath bomb and a Brightside bubble bar.

The May Day bath bomb has a slight aniseed scent, made from a mix of fennel, citrus and rosewood oil. It smells lovely, even though I'm not particularly fond of aniseed. I haven't tried this one yet, but it's supposed to leave your skin feeling smooth and revived. It's a plain white bomb, flecked with black and a simple badger face design - with a hidden surprise note inside. Excluding VAT, all proceeds made from the sale of these bath bombs goes to anti-badger culling projects in the UK - so it's all for an excellent cause. It costs £2.95, and is only available for purchase during May!

The Brightside bubble bar is a large funky orange bar, with a swirling orange, red and yellow pattern. It is designed to be used over a couple of baths - so lasts for longer than just a single use.  To use it, you break bits off from the bar and crumble them under running water as you fill your bath - it gives you the most amazing orange scented water! I got to test this one a little bit in the store before I bought it, with a jug of water and a tester bar, and the scent was divine! I love fruity smelling bath bits - though I don't have much that's orange scented, so this is extra nice. I can't wait to try it out. It's £4.50 per bar, and though the packet says it should last for 2 baths - I think there's actually enough for 3-4 baths. The reviews on the website for this item mostly say the same as well - so it's extra good value. It smells so good!

Finally, I bought this deodorant bar to test. It's the T'Eo solid deodorant and is made from green grapes, juniper and citrus essential oils. It's really fresh and clean smelling - and is suitable for use by men as well as women. Something I've been looking to find for some time is a more natural deodorant - as I am allergic to the alcohol and fragrances (chemicals) that are put into a lot of other ones. Plus with various health-related concerns about deodorants over the last few years - a more natural product seems like a better choice. Deodorant stones and crystals have their own health-related concerns, and other standard shop bought products that don't have the chemicals, etc, or at least as many, are often also tested on animals. So I've spent quite a while trying to find something different. Hopefully this might make a good solution - it has absorbent powders and anti-bacterial oils that are designed to keep you fresh and dry. You simply rub the bar against dry skin. It costs £4.75 per bar.

Besides these bits, I also bought a book, a CD, and a couple of DVDs.