I'm going to start off with a few bits from a fun store, that's pretty new to me, Tiger. Hailing from Denmark, Tiger is one cool and quirky shop. It stocks pretty much everything from herbs and spices, to home wear and stationery. Since I've been going for monthly eyebrow waxes at the Benefit counter in Debenhams in Newcastle, I can't resist popping in and having a nose.
The first two things that I bought pretty much sum up the Tiger vibe, cute desk tidies that look like shopping baskets and shopping trolleys. I'd seen a few pictures of these online, and loving anything that's miniature I couldn't resist adding them to my all be it, much larger basket. Since they're made of metal, they're pretty sturdy and the plastic coated section come in a variety of different colours. I think the baskets are around £4, and something makes me think that the trolley was a little bit cheaper. I think they make great funky looking storage pieces and if you have little people I'm sure that they would make pretty cool toys.
Something else that I picked up from Tiger was this pack of wooden log, fridge magnets. I know some people think that fridge magnets are a bit tacky but personally I love them, and whenever I go somewhere new on holiday I always pick up a magnet to remind me of my travels. These cute little wooden magnets that resemble tree rings though are now safely adhered to the magnetic notice board in my office, to keep my notes and my photographs safe. They were just £1 for a pack of 4.
I also picked up a pack of magnets from Poundland. I already have the brightly coloured letter magnets that you'll probably remember from your nursery and primary school days but these vintage typewriter style magnets probably appeal more to the adult in me. You can also get them in a ransom note style type, so you can leave yourself messages or make up rude words as you please x
Like a lot of bloggers out there I love my stationery, and I'm one of them, I love cute notepads, cute stickers and even cute writing sets. I know writing letters seems to be a bit of a dying art but I don't think there is anything nicer then receiving a hand written note or letter. I usually buy note cards but for a change I decided to buy a couple of cute writing sets instead. Both of these sets come from The Works, and they had loads of pretty ones to choose from but I loved the lip print and the almost Orla Kiely style stem and leaf print. They were just £1 a set, and each one contains 10 sheets of writing paper and 10 matching envelopes x
Next up something else that bloggers all seem to love, candles! I've loved candles for as long as I can remember, and I burn a scented candle pretty much everyday. Although I'm trying to branch out a little bit and try new things, Yankee Candles are still my brand of choice. I buy a lot of my candles in store but for pricing on Yankee Candles you really can't beat QVC UK's prices. A few months ago now (I said this haul was late!) they featured a Yankee Candle Today's Special Value, which on this occasion was a QVC exclusive 39 piece Warm Summer Nights Seasonal Hamper.
The set came in a sturdy canvas basket which featured a super cute tassel and pom pom bag charm. The basket featured two layers of candle products. The first layer contained 12 votive candles in some of Yankee's newest spring and summer scents, it contained 2 x Passion Fruit Martini, 2 x Flowers In The Sun, 2 x Moonlight, 2 x Dreamy Summer Nights, 2 x My Serenity, and 2 x Sunset Breeze votives.
If that wasn't enough the second layer of the baskets contained two boxes of 12 tea lights in the Passion Fruit Martini and Flowers In The Sun Fragrances and 2 purple glass bucket holders to burn both your votives and tea lights in.
Unfortunately I can't remember exactly how much this kit was, but I do remember that the value was amazing and way less then RRP. Whilst the votives and the tea lights won't fragrance a huge space, I like to use them either on my bedside table, or the desk next to me while I'm writing, or crafting. They're perfect for a gentle, intimate fragrance and this kit gave me a fantastic opportunity to try out some new fragrances. I have to say I don't think there is a single fragrance in this kit that I dislike - my favourite is probably the super fruity Passionfruit Martini, but I can see myself burning all of these depending on the time of day and my mood. I also bought this kit on what QVC call their auto delivery programme, which basically means that I'm going to receive another 3 hampers, all in a different design, with new holders and new seasonal fragrances in fact I may have already got the Autumn hamper which I'll show you in an upcoming post :)
If you've been reading my blogger for a while now you'll know that this was the year when I was going to try and get organised. I really am trying but there is still so much more that I need to do and need to sort out, and the next few things that I've bought are hopefully going to help me do that, by improving some of my storage options.
This is a foldable, hexagonal storage ottoman which comes from QVC. I've seen a few similar things on the market but this is strongest and the best quality one that I've come across. Made of a faux leather it folds down flat, but when it's assembled it's super strong. It features a padded lid, which makes it a comfy seat, and you can even reverse the lid and use it as a tray. It's sturdy enough to stand on and it's surprisingly roomy. I'm using mine to store all of my electrical beauty bits such as my tongs and my straighteners. I also bought the wheeled section separately so I can move it round and use it around my room as a seat. QVC do a lot of these ottomans in different shapes and I would really recommend them if you need extra storage and occasional seating.
I love my jewellery but I have to be honest and say that I'm running out go places to store it. I have a large mirrored jewellery cabinet for my fine jewellery but my fashion jewellery storage is all over the place, I have some pieces in hat boxes, some in fabric dress style hangers on my doors, and I also have some jewellery hooks on the side of my wardrobe, and believe it or not i still need more jewellery storage. My mum actually got some of these a little while back for B&M and after trying hers I though that these would be perfect for hanging on my wardrobe frame. They are just £1 each and I'm currently using them for long necklaces but you can also use them for belts and scarves. I'm going to do a proper sort and then I think I might do a jewellery storage video to show you all of my jewellery and the different storage options that I use, if you'd be interested in seeing that, then let me know x
Next a few pieces from the storage mothership that is IKEA, if you need storage for just about anything then you need to take a trip to IKEA. I never ever leave empty handed and this visit was no exception, as well as picking up some dining room chairs for Mummy Lou I also picked up another set of Helmer drawers.
Annoyingly the new ones are much of a pure white than the cream ones I have but I'll have to live with that. I used my original Helmer for nail polish storage and to be honest it's starting to overflow so most of my new one will be filled with nail polish too, and if I have any space left, I'll be storing some other beauty items. These aren't the biggest drawers that IKEA do but you can fit them into quite a compact space, and the drawers actually hold quite a bit. I also love that they're on wheels so you can move them around for cleaning. I love them and i would recommend them to anyone whether you use them in the bedroom, the office, or even in the bathroom.
I'm in the process of sorting out my new office space, and whilst I'm moved in and blogging from my desk now, I'm still sorting out boxes of stuff and adding pretties. Apparently plants help you to concentrate and they help to keep you calm so I picked up a pack of 3 cacti plants. I used to have a cactus or two in my bedroom many moons ago and because they're so easy to care for, I thought that this set which was £4.50 would be perfect for my desk. I still fancy something bigger and more flowy and greener to go on the top of a set of storage drawers but given my uselessness with plants I'll need to consult Mummy Lou aka Mrs Greenfingers before I buy anything else.
The final few things that I want to show you are from eBay x According to my mam I'm slightly obsessed with cushions, and yes I'll admit it I do have quite a few in the two rooms that I consider my own, but I love my comfort and I think cushions can make a bed look more dressed and inviting in an instant. This time I didn't buy a cushion as such but these two cushion covers that I got work perfectly with the lilacs and pastels in my rooms.
Come on which beauty lover wouldn't love these cushions? The fabric isn't the best but I love the Chanel fragrance print and of course the NARS lipstick print. These two cushions came from overseas sellers, the perfume cushion was just £2.39 from this seller and the lipstick cushion cover was £2.58 from this seller. A couple of different sellers do these covers at varying price points though so it's worth shopping around x
The final thing I've got to show you in this haul also came from eBay, and it's a mug. A few bloggers I know have this mug already and I believe they got if from Truffle Shuffle, I found this one on eBay though and I love the fact that you can get it personalised with the name of your choice.
Unfortunately the seller that I bought mine from doesn't seem to sell these anymore but this seller does and they have loads of different Little Miss and Mr Men themed mugs, including some of the new adult themed mugs all of which can be personalised. I'm quite fancying a Little Miss Social Media mug next ;).
So that was my long awaited home and lifestyle haul x I've also made an accompanying You Tube video which you watch below or via this link.
I'd love to know what you think about my haul, and I'd love to know what home, lifestyle and stationery items you've bought recently so leave me a comment and let me know x I've already got another home and lifestyle haul planned so make sure you following my blog so you don't miss it x
