Christmas Quest Continues

Quick update on my Christmas preparations.

Have still not bought a tree as Dave was a bit reluctant to get the cone shaped one as we wouldn't be able to hang the ornaments we have on it. Sadly, I have to take his feelings into consideration sometimes and I did (It did make sense). I'm still hankering for a white tree or aluminium if one ever comes up on ebay (UK).

I've decided to replace my beige drum lampshades with white paper lanterns for the season - kind of reminiscent of snow. I'll try to take a couple 'before and after' pictures so you can see the transformation.

I would also like to hang a light curtain in the doorway between the kitchen and my living room. I understand it could be seen as tacky but what's Christmas without a little bit of tack? Besides, I think it will lend a magical quality to the room and make it appear as if the food is being produced by elves (aka Dave).

I managed to get some snowflake stickers for the window. Unfortunately, the postage for the ones I previously blogged about proved too ridiculous so I got these for a bargain £1 off ebay. I would have liked them to be in a variety of sizes but I'll see what I can do with these.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Marry Me, Marrimekko

I found these funky tea towels whilst browsing the Always Mod site. Designed by Sanna Annukka for Marimekko, they are certainly an improvement on my current teatowels, that's for sure.

The second one reminds me a bit of the horse statue from the Brady Bunch house.
I'd buy the first one immediately if the postage weren't as much as the tea towel itself. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a UK stockist for that particular design as yet (sad face).

Bird Watching

Calling All Car...lton Ware Bird Dishes.

I first clapped eyes on these beauties when Biba posted a couple on her Inspiration Bubble blog.
It was love at first sight.

I have since been desperately trying to find one for myself. They are an elusive species to say the least. Three of these pictures have been stored in a folder for months (2 from Biba's blog) and Iwas only able to find two more when I searched today. They are certainly things of beauty.

The second blue one is currently for sale at £42 here but that's a little too steep for me. I prefer the orange/lime green one in the same style but I'll gladly welcome any for free!

I found this similar bird dish made by Hornsea on Pips-Trip. I'm loving the blue and the flower shaped eye but it's already been sold.

Keep your eyes peeled for me, dear readers...

Hairy Windows?

source: Christie's

I've just installed a brand spanking new copy of Windows 7 and am now waiting for it to make my life spectacular (if the ads are to be believed).

I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front the last few days but I am still recovering from a stinking cold. I've had lots of blog ideas but in my lethargy, have not been able to convince myself to write the posts.

I'll keep working on that but in the meantime,
take a look at the beautiful hair...

This video was only just blogged about on I Luv Retro Things and I can't stop saying... 'Take a look at the beautiful hair!'

Please forgive me - I'm still not very well.

A Little Ray of Sunshine

A little bit of sunshine for your cold, grey days.

This Hawaiian Express Tote Yellow is a feast for the eyes. If I didn't already have my lovely bag made by Atomic Livin' I'd be seriously tempted.

Also tempting is the smaller version as a coin purse. Here are some more of my favourites but to be quite honest I'd gladly accept any of them.

These glorious designs are the work of artist Mark Swanson. His site is a treat in itself but I was particularly impressed by 'Boutique Pacific'.

I wish I could step inside this picture. It emanates such an inviting atmosphere. Alas, I lack the power of teleportation nor the $550 needed to purchase a print.

Look Through My Window

Oooh look - a glimpse into my home. Or rather out of my home.

I just wanted to share a pic of an area of my flat that is making me happy right now.
A couple of weeks ago I cleaned the windows (not something that happens often, I'm afraid to say) and rearranged the kitchen window sill.

I really like the contrast of the white pots with the green plants. I'm also liking the less-cluttered look (it's less cluttered than it was anyway). But it probably makes me happy because it reminds me that I cleaned the windows and got a bit more organised.

The thing I don't get is that if I feel this good doing it, why don't I do it more often?

Moai Man

The latest addition to my tiki family.
I got this little Easter Island tiki statue from my local fish shop today.
He will sit in my aquarium underneath all the other items in my growing tiki collection.
In other tiki news, I am happy to say that Dave is fully on board with our future home tiki bar. He has even been coming up with ideas for it without my prodding. Hooray!
Long live tiki.

High Beam

I'm still on the lookout for the perfect desk lamp and these ones are definitely in the running.
Available from Graham and Green (who are also offering 20% off til Monday) for £28 - £32. Also available in red and chrome for that very fifties feel.

St George's Rocket

Not that I'm obsessed with decor or anything but I do get surprised when I find cool decor sites I haven't come across before. This is the case with Rockett St George.

Here are some of my favourites:

Magnetic Notice Board with Coloured Magnets

Ovetto Recycling Bin

Sky Planters

Droplet Fruit Bowl

Coloured Cupcake Tea Light Holders

Apple Bird Feeder

All available from Rockett St George.

In Good Componibili

I have decided that I must have a 3 tier componibili in white.

Designed by Anna Castelli Ferrieri in the 60s, the componibili was produced by Kartell (my latest source of inspiration).

It's round; it's white and it stores things - these things appeal to me. Furthermore, it fits in with the decor in my current home as well as the plans for my future home.

Dave on the other hand thinks it's a lot to pay for 'a bit of plastic'. Sigh.

However, since he has told me I will probably never be able to have a puppy, I have demanded compensation in the form of designer furniture. I'm starting here.

Blabbering Trees

Since Anthony asked whether I had room for a Christmas tree, I thought I'd blog about that next.

Last year we had a real tree. I was so excited - it was my first real tree ever! Getting rid of it afterwards was not so fun.

This year I thought I'd like a vintage aluminium tree to complement my retro passions. After a fruitless search (there are LOADS in America though), I've started to consider a white tree. I've never really fancied white Christmas trees but my quest for an aluminium tree has turned me onto them as they have a similar look. PLUS it would really suit my winter wonderland theme.

I have a bit of space between the television and the fish tank - a perfect space for this tree I found from B & Q (I couldn't get a larger image to show here).

Click the image for a better look.

It's a predecorated and prelit popup tree which means if I fancy a more traditional tree in future, I could just whack this one out in another room. The 'popup' factor indicates that it might be quite easy to store. It also looks quite thin which I hope will keep the area from looking crowded. However, I don't think I'll be able to hang my pre-existing baubles on this tree which would be sad (more on them later).

This bauble wreath would also suit my theme but I'm undecided as yet. What do you think?

B&Q

I think I'm gonna have to head off to my local B&Q this weekend for a closer look.

First image from apartment therapy.

Christmas Quest

Some people may want to punch me right now but I'm already starting to prepare for Christmas. Dave and I have always been lucky enough to spend Christmas at other people's homes. When I was single, I basically went wherever my mum and dad were. This year we're having Christmas at our place!

I'm quite excited about it and have been coming up with some ideas which I've been dying to blog about but wanted to wait until Halloween and my birthday was gone. Now that Guy Fawke's Day has also passed, I'm letting loose!

I'm in charge of decoration and atmosphere and Dave is in charge of the food (phew!). I've pretty much decided on a winter wonderland theme with splashes of colour - which basically means lots of white background stuff and some multicoloured accessories. The table in this picture would be perfect! Pity it's about £500.

I'm also trying to limit tinsel and overly Christmasy decorations. The reasons being; a) I think they're easy to overdo, b) David moans about them and c) lack of storage space for things only used once a year.

These snowflake stickers were my original inspiration:

I love snow and I think these have got a pretty modern feel to them. I plan to concentrate them on a corner of the window. I should mention athat the space I've got to work with is very small. It basically consists of one rectangular shaped room about 5m by 3m (my living room). I live in a tiny flat and it's quite funny we're considering having six people for dinner here at all - but I'm up for the challenge!

The white with multicoloured highlights idea was basically the theme of my wedding so I've already got a few resources stashed away in the garage. I'm going to pull out some round fish bowl style vases which I've decided to fill with multicoloured baubles. I am surprised at how hard it is to find multicoloured packs of baubles. They tend to sell them as packs of one or two colours with only a very limited pallette. This year they want people to decorate with silver and red it seems. Luckily, I managed to pick these up on my visit to Heal's last weekend:

I would have preferred smooth and shiny rather than glittery but I think these will look great on a white tablecloth.

Now, as I am not made of money, my quest has led me to many things that I've had to pass up along the way. I love this wooden reindeer advent calendar. It has little drawers to store treats.

Not only is it hard to find multicoloured baubles this year but it is also hard to find multicoloured Christmas crackers. These would be perfect but at £40 for six, they're a bit too rich for my blood.

Whew! This turned into a mammoth post. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll update with more ideas as they happen.

Tiki Tank

I want one of these for my Tiki Bar!
When I get one, that is.
The Aloha Tiki Treasures aquarium has been around for a while apparently but the price seems to have dropped a bit. I think it looks the business.

Heal, Girl!

I wrote a post last week about whether the quality of sofas found in places like Heal's was worth the price tag (you can read that post here). While in London last weekend, I popped in to get some 'Christmasy' items (more on that later) and decided to test some of the sofas out for myself.

I particularly liked the Opera sofa - sitting on it felt like sitting on a soft, yet supportive cloud. I suppose no one can really tell without having one in their home for a while but it was very comfortable and I am now lusting after one.

Heal's Opera Sofa - I want that shag rug too!

This was my first Heal's experience and I have to admit I was very impressed. It was like a mid mod paradise to me. I walked and sometimes skipped about, squealing with delight at each new treasure I found.

Even before I stepped inside I was excited - the shop display windows featured my favourite Kartell FL/Y lights.

After walking past loads of lush Orla Kiely cushions, I was soon to find a whole Kartell department. The colours were amazing and I have more Kartell items on my wish list now. I'm not sure about the metallic colours in my home but these Cindy lamps were so effective on display.

Gorgeous sofas everywhere and many arco floor lamps (my dream lamp) scattered around the place.

As I was about to leave, I caught sight of this Vitra Baobab desk, reminiscent of the Calka desk I blogged about back in April. More affordable but still out of my price range.

I'm aware that this post sounds a bit like an advertisement, which was not my intention, but if anyone from Heal's would like to repay me with a spending spree in their store - I'm more than up for it!

In the Presence of Presents

I know I promised to blog about my birthday adventures but unfortunately I still haven't got any photos yet. I stupidly forgot my camera and am waiting for my fellow revellers to send me some pics. I thought I'd post some photos of some prezzies instead.

I got a funky liquid centred ring from the funky Octopus in Carnaby Street (Sorry no pic at this time). I then picked up this sweet memo pad designed by Shinzi Katoh at Lazy Oaf.

After a scrumptious dinner and a few cocktails at the Hard Rock Cafe, we headed to the Trader Vic's underneath the London Hilton (Will hopefully get some pics soon). My lovely cousin bought me this pair of salt and pepper shakers:

Dave and I shared a tiki bowl cocktail and I decided to buy the bowl to expand my budding tiki collection:

Throwing caution to the wind, I also thought, 'What the hell, it's my birthday' and also bought this Trader Vic's coconut mug:

My most unexpected present was David's new found interest in tiki since he found out how much alcohol is involved. He is now planning our home tiki bar (for when we actually get a home) and is keen on another trip to Trader Vic's or Mahiki soon.

Hooray for birthdays!

Happy Birthday Sesame Street!

I've been a bit busy to post but just found out through twitter that Sesame Street turns 40 today and couldn't let it go by.

I am a BIG Sesame Street fan!

I've loved Sesame Street since I was a child and so have formed a few opinions along the way. Indulge me.

I'm glad Big Bird grew more feathers on his head - his first look was a bit offputting for me.

Big Bird: Then & Now

I remember when Mr Hooper died - my mum said it was handled very well by the show.

Mr Looper, I mean... Hooper

I don't think Mr Snuffleupagus should have ever have been seen by the adults - that was part of his charm.

Remember Snuffy's theme? You always knew he was coming.

My friend and I developed a theory that your favourite Sesame Street character reveals a lot about your personality. My favourite has always been Ernie and I do think we're quite similar. Who was yours?

The Irrepressible Ernie

Happy Birthday to Me

image via photobucket

I've had a lovely weekend and have a lot to blog about - but not today... I'm still celebrating!
Will try to blog as soon as possible.