Category: Christmas

Baby loves!

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They are the pajamas you’ve always wanted to wear.  Cotton, cut to a manly shape with prints so good they can’t be legal.  In fact Desmond and Dempsey pjs have it all –  and other than Mr Right naturalment, would make the perfect bed partner for Christmas morning.

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Interestingly the men don’t have the same wild, intoxicating options: These are as funky as it gets.  So you may want to do as Charlie and buy from the girls section – would make a change…

 

Laters, Kate x

Toolally ho ho ho..

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Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn.  So says Gore Vidal.  And Mags from Toolally jewellery…

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Her pieces are handcrafted in her Yorkshire studio and designed to make maximum impact.

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They are the perfect partner if you want your clothes to simmer gently and your bling to take all the limelight.

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I never thought I’d find perspex to be so attractive again, but these blaze the line between cool retro and hot modern.

 

I smell a trend.

Laters, Kate x

Raindrops on roses..

It’s Started..

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Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat.  Except it isn’t..but the insidious creep is appearing on my peripheral vision like the ink from a frightened octopus.  I bought my first stocking fillers today…and faced head on the yearly mental anguish of the inner childs excitement for presents versus materialistic waste and the accumulation of useless stuff.  I still haven’t got a solution to square the circle – how to appear less Ebenezer, more Mathew Cuthbert?  Except possibly to buy less, buy better, buy clever.  With this in mind I found myself on this site – Life of Jay – which, though I didn’t realise it at the time, caters primarily for men which they don’t presume to be all sports mad. It genuinely has some interesting stuff..(though does it work if it’s still classed as ‘stuff?’ Sigh)a9e614fc97f4369d248d9a9fe0a7cb30 151684dfc88066f07bdd76147885af75

But who can say no to good stylish storage?2971590bd4592dbc6bf68d5ae9ba6efa 661c81ba4c29902d30360e452463ea63

Or a retro notebook for the jottings of the block buster you know they want to write.58ba4e53ebebe5e2c9e598bb31778ba4 But then I see a silly tin toy rabbit and want to pop it in my basket. Why??af42345a77900a88c2b15e28cd66a16b
They have these which are clever – a retro tin..8d41d761792aab5ca906accdbb0ede27 Containing the bits you think you need.  Except I’d pay more if the interior wasn’t made of plastic..

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This appeals: A reusable teabag robot. Who doesn’t need that on a cold morning?

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And I love their lab style storage jars.

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(All pictures Life of Jay)

Then side tracked by a cunningly designed pizza cutter…

And I’m failing and falling already..

Laters, Kate x

Best of 2015..

Happy New Year! xxx

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But before that..did you have a lovely Christmas?

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We did.  Ignoring the fact it’s the first fake one ever to grace this house, we even managed a Christmas tree of sorts.

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Decorated with everything homemade..

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From reindeer dioramas and cotton yoyos,

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To felt snowman,

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And special handmade gifts.

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Then on the big night itself we laid a cunning plan with Bella and Charlie to catch the red man in action. We sneakily stuck a mobile phone to the wardrobe door….and set it to timer…and blow-me-down…(with a little help from capture the magic)…it only went and worked!!

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And look what I got in my stocking!

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Then it was a quick glass of champagne by the tree before being whisked off to a feast at Auntie Ali’s..in a London black cab. How civilised?

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Father, daughter love..

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Cousin love.

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Fairy love.

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(Spot the odd one out) (it’s harder than you think..)

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Then to top the festivities off..Charlie lost his first front tooth..it hails a whole new dawn..

Laters, Kate x

6 Facts…

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1. It’s warm enough in London to wear shoes without socks but that doesn’t stop me looking at winter coats and dreaming.

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1. I received a beautiful vintage tea-towel in the post today.  More info and pics to follow, but thank you Kerry!

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3. We have no toilet.

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4. Charlie is making paper decorations as I type…but only if I tell him he’s the best cutter in the world. On a regular basis.

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5. We’re going to my mother’s for lunch..and to use the facilities..

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6. If you’re lucky enough to have any flex in your Christmas budget, Net-a-porter (where all these coats are from) is having the most amazing 50% off sale.  Almost makes the prices human…

 

Laters, Kate x

Christmas Creative x

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It’s the last day of the term for the kids, which would normally herald my favourite time of the year – hunkering down with crafts and an open fire to embrace everything glitter, festive and fun.   It’s not the same with builders in the house…but why – really – should it be any different? In fact, with all our decorations in storage, the call to make everything is stronger than ever..I’m just thinking we need to keep everything as cheap and as simple as possible…decorations from paper?

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Surprisingly effective: Cut out the shape, glue 2 sides together..and keep going.  Miniatures for a garland..larger for a tree..

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Or these globes? Fun with scissors and a hole-punch..

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If we get really carried away…. a spot of origami?

(Or maybe we’ll just stick to to the good’ol paper chain….)

Laters, Kate x

Foxy Lady x

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All I want for Christmas is a Christmas tree..but it’s not going to happen..there’s no space and it’ll just get covered in dust.  But I might compromise with a fox scarf..I like the play on the vintage look. I’ve seen children’s versions, which could be like a neck scarf. But personally I like the longer, Tom-Baker-Doctor-Who ones..

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This one promises to be soft, strong and very, very long.

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(All links to examples can be found on Pinterest)

A girl can dream..

Laters, Kate x

Just Because..