It wouldn't be a birthday in the UK without a caterpillar cake, and whilst it's not my birthday, my baby aka my blog celebrates it's 16th birthday today eeek. When I clicked publish on that first post, I never thought that I would outlast so many of my favourite blogs, and still be churning out posts (all be it sporadically!) 16 years later, and what a 16 years it's been!
So much has changed in that time, not only in my own life but also in the worlds of fashion, beauty and of course social media. Blogging to be honest now is a bit passe, people, advertisers and brands, now seem to want faster, simpler content like Instagram and Tik Tok which I can completely understand, but whilst I do dabble in other mediums (check out the links in my sidebar), blogging is the place where I feel really at home, using all be it rambling words to express my feelings, views and frustrations, as I muddle through life.
I'm not going to lie the last few years have been rough not only personally but also blogging wise. Although I am partially to blame, lack of engagement and lack of progression has all made me wonder if it's all worth while, but I still love writing and creating content, and blogging gives me an outlet and a place I can escape to when life gets a little bit too much. Not only that but my stats show that there are still some of you out there that continue to read my blog even when I haven't posted for an age, which is still pretty amazing to me and I really can't thank you enough.
So I guess the gist of this is that I'm not going away anytime soon, I'm trying not to look too far into the future (one of my very bad habits!) instead focusing more on the here and now, and despite several blips at the start of this year, LouLouLand will continue into 2023 and hopefully beyond that.
This year has had a slightly delayed start because, and yes this is the main reason, my mam ordered me a new bed as part of my Christmas present. My old one as you can see was well past it's best, and it was starting to interfere with my sleep, and my pain levels, so I asked for something practical from Santa. We managed to get a really good price on one in the after Christmas sales but we couldn't get it delivered till the end of January - annoying but on reflection it was the best thing that could have happened. My room had to basically be gutted, to get the old bed out and the new one in, and believe me it was hard work, especially for two people with chronic illness but the room was cleared, the bed base was removed and yes I ended up sleeping on a pretty wrecked mattress on the floor for about a week which did nothing for my back.
Eventually we got both the mattress and the bed frame outside for council collection, the new one arrived, and thankfully the fabulous delivery guys took it upstairs for us so it just needed minimal assembly, and voila, new Orla Kiely bedding, and a new duvet, and already my sleep had improved at least 90%, and my back feels less achey when I wake up - result!
Getting the bed back in was the main thing, but we're still unpacking boxes and try to find homes for all the shoe boxes that were under my bed, the furniture is all back in now but since I've decided to go through my belongings with a charity bag in hand as I'm bringing things back in, I've still got quite a way to go before every is back in and in it's correct place - arghhhhh! why is nothing in my world ever simple?
There is no question that I've been doing too much physical stuff so I'm seriously lacking in spoons at the moment hence I haven't really had the energy to do much of anything else, including blogging. That been said I do actually have a couple of posts that are just about ready to go up, so you'll hopefully see both of those next week and I can actually start 2023 properly.
I have no idea in all honesty what direction the blog is really going to go in this year but I'm going to try and live a bit more in the moment and post about what I want, when I want. I have lots of ideas flying around in my head about things that I want to do but as per usual it's about putting them into practise x So Happy Sweet Sixteen LouLouLand, it's been a journey and thanks to your support, and my own bloody mindedness, it's not over yet x
After a lovely weekend, and a bright, and sunny Monday, it's safe to say that Spring has now officially arrived in my little corner of County Durham. Okay we might have some rainy days, and maybe even a little bit of frost and snow to come but the warmer and sunnier weather is definitely on it's way. Spring is often seen as a time of new beginnings, and fresh starts, and nowhere is that truer than within the home itself, it is called Spring cleaning after all. Even if you're not planning any major home renovations, or cleaning sprees this spring, it doesn't hurt to refresh your surroundings, and switch things up a bit, with a couple of purchases and new additions.
The first buy that I'm going to show you, is all about freshening up your home for Spring. This is the final instalment of my QVC UK, Yankee Candle Hamper Auto Delivery, and this is the Yankee Candle 39 Piece Spring Hamper. Like the previous instalments, this one also comes in a sturdy canvas hamper, with an attached faux leather tassel bag charm.
The hamper contains a wide variety of fresh, and floral scented candles that are perfect for spring. It contains 12 of Yankee Candle's votive candles, in 6 fragrances, Aloe Water, Shea Butter, Cherry Blossom, Verbena, Wild Mint and Linden Tree.
It also contains 2 boxes of 12 tea lights, in both the Cherry Blossom, and Wild Mint fragrances, and two clear glass, Yankee Candle branded bucket holders.
As I say this is the perfect Spring selection, all of the fragrances are very clean, and fresh, you have a couple of zingy ones like the Verbena, and the Wild Mint, then you some softer and more powdery fragrances like the Shea Butter and fragrances like the Aloe Water, and the Cherry Blossom that are lot more floral and almost perfume like. I've really enjoyed receiving these sets over the last 12 months or so - they've given me the chance to try lots of new fragrances, some of which I would have never of thought of trying. Admittedly some of the fragrances just aren't me but I have found quite a few new favourites, including Aloe Water which has really surprised me. This kit is actually still available on the QVC UK website, all be it a higher price than what I paid, but at just £33.96 and £5.95 postage I think it's well worth it if you think that your home needs a Spring fragrance boost x
If like my mam you're not quite ready to embrace Spring just yet, then you can also still get the Winter / Christmas version on the QVC UK website. As ready as I am for the warmer weather, I'm still a big fan of spicy and foodie scents, and following on from a few reader and viewer recommendations I decided to pick up a more autumn and wintry themed candle from B&M.
I love my candles but one brand that I've never tried is Woodwick, I honestly don't know why I haven't tried them before, they are really pleasing on the eye, every one that I've sniffed smells amazing, and they crackle! I love the idea of them but they can be a little bit pricey, which is why I think I've never succumbed to the Woodwick love in. Thankfully though B&M have come up trumps with a cheaper, dupe Woodland Wick Crackling Natural Wooden Wick Candles. Instead of having a traditional style, cotton wick, these candles, have a slim sliver of wood, that supposedly crackles like a real log fire when you burn the candle.
I'm not sure whether it does what it claims to yet because I haven't lit it, but so far this one was worth every penny of the £3.99 that I paid purely based on the scent. This one is in the Spiced Berry scent, and to me it smells exactly like mulled wine, you get a slight spiciness, and all the fruitiness that you'd expect from your Christmas tipple. If mulled wine isn't to your taste they also have several other fragrances to choose from, and they even have multi layered, multi fragranced candles as well. If you've tried any of the other scents, or if you've tried any Woodwick candles I'd love to hear your recommendations x
I love a good scrat around B&M, and I can always find something to buy, on a bad day it might just be some peanut butter cups, or some Butterfingers, buy on a good day, I could be something useful, or something nice for the home. On my last trip I couldn't resist picking up a couple of packs of these curtain tie backs. I have these really quirky, slightly trippy 1970's floral curtains, in shades of lilac, purple, and white, up in my bedroom, and I desperately needed some new tie backs. Note to self, rope tie backs and cats don't mix! These ones though are made of faceted smokey, lilac crystals, and to be honest they look a lot more expensive then the £4.99 that I paid for each one. I haven't managed to put them up yet but when I do I'll share some pictures on my Instagram account .
Like B&M, Poundland is another one of those shops that I've never seem to leave empty handed. On my most recent trip I managed to bag 3 Nails Inc, nail polishes, and this..
I am a huge fan of Poundland's faux regency, shabby chic, style frames, and this cute square one, was part of their selection of Mother's Day gifts. Personally I frame a lot of postcards and note cards so this isn't the most practical frame for that, but I'm sure I'll find something to put in it even if it's just an Instagram pic or a family photo.
I went through a bit of a phase of buying photo frames, without ever having a place in my bedroom to put them so I think I'm going to move a few into my office come craft room. It seems as though I've been sorting out that room since the beginning of time and I'm still no closer to getting it how I want it. I should really be working on improving my storage solutions but instead I still keep buying pretties i.e. photo frames, and letter and word art.
I'm really loving my letter L's at the moment, and I'm building up a nice collection, of both lights and plaques.This black letter L, was only £1.50 in the NEXT sale, it's has a really chunky feel. You can either hang it on the wall, or you can do what I'm going to do, and leave it freestanding.
Speaking of letters, it wouldn't be a home haul on LouLouLand, without a little bit of stationery, and I'm ending this haul with a couple of notebooks, that in all honesty I probably didn't need but hey pretty stationery is pretty stationery, first up this pretty piece from AVON.
Annoyingly I can't actually find this online anymore , but keep an eye on your brochures if you like the look of it. It's just a plain spiral bound, lined notebook, but what really makes this one for me is the beautiful lilac toned, marbleised floral patterns. I love the colour and the design and even though it's not that relevant and I can't think of anyone who matches their stationery with their bedroom, it matches the colours in my bedroom perfectly. It also features the words "Happy Thoughts" on the front in gold foil, so I'm going to try and use this one to record things that make me happy and positive thoughts.
From happy thoughts, to getting things done, and getting organised - the last thing that I picked up was a journal, from Paperchases fabulous No Probllama range.
Featuring a cute, and quirky Llama design, this is the No Probllama Ideas Journal. It's a hardback notebook, that contains a mixture of pages for notes, ideas, to do lists, pros and cons, and brainstorms, all teamed up with little llama illustrations. I'm so bad at planning and organising things, and I keep having ideas and brainwaves and then forgetting them. I hope that this will give me somewhere to write my ideas and thoughts down and I'm hoping that this will make me a bit more productive in the rest of 2017. This particular book was £8 and it's part of a wider range of Llama themed bits and pieces that you can find in Paperchase at the moment.
I hope you've found this small home, stationery and home fragrancing haul useful, don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know if you have any questions, and of course don't forget to watch the accompanying You Tube video which you can watch by clicking on the image above or by clicking on this link x
I know that December is a busy month for most people, but I just seem to be constantly on the go at the moment. As a result my November haul pretty much forgotten about, so I've decided to do a combined November and beginning of December haul :) Like Octobers haul this one too, is going to be split into two parts - home accessories, and fashion and beauty.
I'm really into prettifying my surroundings at the moment and like so many others I've decided to embrace the festive bedding trend. As much as I love all the reds and the reindeer's they don't really fit in with the pastels, and the silver and purple tones of my room. So I went for this Nordic, style offering from Studio.
Covered in geometric snowflakes, and tiny hearts, it's grey and white, and I think it will work perfectly with the rest of my decor, bar my tartan throw from Primark but that's staying no matter what because it's so cosy :) Unfortunately I can't find this duvet set on the Studio website anymore but they have some similar Nordic styles, and of course the baubles and reindeer's that we've come to expect.
My name is Louise, and I'm obsessed with cushions! I love cushions, and I always have a huge stack of them on my bed. Every time a new cushion appears I can almost see my mums eyes starting to roll, so I'm trying to cut down on the amount that I buy, after all I don't really need 8 cushions and 4 plus pillows on my bed. Last month though I saw a cushion that I loved and thankfully it wasn't a cushion, it was actually a cushion cover.
This gorgeous wool mix, cushion cover comes from H&M. The fabric is a really nice quality, and the grey, blue colour coordinates perfectly with my new duvet set. The thing I love most about this cushion though is the print, on the front embroidered in silver are the words " Meet Me Under The Stars" and a little star. I love it and it's going to have pride of place on my festive bed. It was £7.99 from the H&M website and it also comes in an ivory, white with gold writing.
I really wish that an H&M store near me stocked their home products, I'm really loving a lot of their pieces at the moment, and continuing on with Octobers owl theme I couldn't resist this owl tea light holder.
Made of a glossy white ceramic, this little guy also comes in a turquoise / duck egg blue. To be honest I don't think I'm going to use real tea lights in him, he's too cute for that, but I'm sure he'll look just as pretty with a battery operated one, tucked inside. He was £6.99 and he also came from the H&M website.
I was so impressed with my October purchases from Busy Bee Candles that I couldn't resist placing another order, this time for some more festive scents.
My mum is a huge fan of ginger fragrances, so we got 2 Ginger Christmas Soy Wax Tart Melts. We haven't tried these yet but they smell exactly like gingerbread cookies baking in the oven. We also got a Mulled Wine Soy Wax Tart Melt, which smells deliciously fruity,with just a hint of spice, and a Christmas Spice Room And Linen Freshener. If you buy nothing else from Busy Bee Candles then buy this room spray. So many room sprays are synthetic and just not that nice but this is something else, if you love the smell of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger then you need this room spray in your life. For just £5.95 this product really is Christmas in a bottle!
I was a silly billy though and placed my Busy Bee order the day before Black Friday, thus missing out on their discount offers :( The lovely people at Busy Bee though kindly put a little extra in with my parcel to make up for the fact that I missed out on the offer. The product they gave me was some Jack Frost Magik Beanz. If you like candy canes and After Eights then this is the fragrance for you. It's a combination of peppermint and vanilla, that clears your head and makes your mouth water in equal measure.
I'm really loving all of these festive scents at the moment, and for a fruit and floral girl that's really saying something. I was inspired to make me next purchase by Shannon from Raspberrykiss. Like me she's a bit of a fan of home hauls, and recently she bought some festive wax melts from Poundland.
I'm a bit of a Poundland fan so I had a little look and found some of the Airpure Wax Melts in Mulled Wine. They come in a sold block divided into 6, all you do is snap off a melt and put it in a melt warmer or a burner. Again I haven't tried these yet but they do smell nice, a bit spicy and a bit fruity.
My final home purchase of the month was another fragrance item and this time it was from Yankee Candles.
Excuse the bad pictures but this is a Yankee Candles Car Jar in Lemon Lavender. This is one of my favourite ever Yankee fragrances, and it's one that I tend to burn at night. You get a fresh lavender scent with just a hint of citrus, some people find it enlivening but I find it quite relaxing. Unlike cardboard air fresheners of the past, these are plastic jars, with a gel fragrance in them, so the fragrance is more intense and lasts longer. This isn't for the car instead I'm planning on using this one either in my wardrobe or as a general room fragrance. I have bought one for my mum's Christmas stocking though, in the Macintosh apple fragrance, which she will probably use in the car.
So that was my November and early December home haul. If you have any questions on anything that I've bought please leave me a comment, and I'll see you tomorrow with my beauty and fashion haul, and maybe something else x
