Weekly Wishes: Autumn/Winter

Today (full of rain, clouds, and even a liiiittle bit of lightning) seems a perfect day to post a loosely autumn/winter themed wishlist. Not that I'm seriously planning that far ahead, but all the shops seem to be gearing towards autumn already - I swear this is even earlier than usual, or is it just that I'm paying more attention this year?!

I finally got around to buying new work clothes this weekend! I've been meaning to for ages as most of what I was wearing for work was just the more formal end of my everyday clothes and I wanted a bit more delineation, and to look a bit more professional. I picked up this cute M&S pencil skirt and I think it would go really well with a mustard top for autumn; I'm eyeing up this long-sleeved number from Next or this more budget buy from H&M.

Next up, I really like this lovely minimalist jewellery box from Anthropologie. As well as being pretty, it would be great to be able to see all my jewellery at a glance - then I wouldn't forget what I have! Their bits & baubles tray would also be a really useful and cute way to store my jewellery when I'm way too tired/lazy to put it away properly (which happens a lot!).

Lastly, these candles (also Anthropologie...) are not only beautiful to look at, but smell absolutely gorgeous. The 'biscuits and berries' and 'double latte' are my favourite Tea & Sympathy candles (top right) and this Boulangerie sweet vanilla cinnamon one smells exactly like Christmas - I may be thinking way ahead here but I'll definitely be buying it come December!

Hope everyone out there is having a great week! :)

Weekly Wishes: Kitchen Essentials

Hey, look, third blog post in a week! I'm on a roll. Now let's see if we can keep this up...Good thing I took lots of lovely photos of Plymouth this weekend.

A week or so ago I wanted to make a recipe from delicious magazine, but then realised it required poached eggs; not being brave enough to try poaching them for the first time in just a pan of water, I soft boiled them instead (just as tasty), but it got me thinking about what bits of kitchen equipment I'd like to acquire to be able to cook/serve food more effectively (and prettily) - they may not all actually be 'essentials', but here are some of my favourites:

John Lewis 'The Pan' Egg Poacher, M&S Acacia Salad Servers, Jamie Oliver Apron @ Debenhams, M&S Olive Wood Paddle Board

Cole & Mason Pepper and Salt Mills @ Debenhams, House by John Lewis Utensils, Falcon 6-Piece Enamel Prep Set @ Liberty

I'm especially loving M&S's gorgeous wooden serveware right now. It would all be perfect for summer entertaining, which we'll hopefully do some of once we move and have our own little garden! They've got a bit of a sale on at the moment too, so very tempting...

After consistently dropping food on myself while baking/cooking over the last few months, I recently had the brainwave that I could actually buy an apron (apparently a degree doesn't actually equal common sense - who'd have thought it, right?). I'm torn between the Jamie Oliver apron and these two lovely little numbers from Anthropologie though...Someone help me decide!! 

Weekly Wishes: Sherbet Crush

In order to (try to...!) ensure more regular posting I've decided to do a weekly wishlist post on a Monday - shopping is one of the best ways to chase away the Monday blues, even if it is just dream shopping...

Tesco Basic Chevron Print Duvet, Prices Grapefruit and Peppermint Candle, Tesco Pink Vase, Tesco White Glass Lantern, Tesco Colour Dipped Wood Salad Bowl

Tesco Dip Dye Earthenware Mugs, Tesco Smoke Taper Vase, Tesco Wood Stripe Tray

Sadly credit for the title has to go to Tesco; everything above is part of their spring/summer pastel-themed homeware range, 'Sherbet Crush'. I totally adore pastels, so I want pretty much everything but above are some of my absolute favourites (I may have already bought the duvet cover...shhh ;) ). I used to be a bit dubious of the quality of supermarket fashion/homeware, but I think in the last few years they've really upped their game and this collection has solidly made me a fan. What should I buy next?! (Bearing in mind that I'm pretty sure the boy will kill me if I buy more mugs just because they're pretty...)

War Books Wishlist

Is it weird to want enough books centred on World War I to be able to devote an entire wishlist to it? This isn't even all of them! I've always been fascinated by the first half of the 20th century, especially World Wars I and II; so much so that my best friend from secondary school used to say that all I read was war books! I don't know exactly why I find that era so interesting - I think it's a combination of the radical change the wars brought about (especially for women) and the romantic idea of a different, more earnest time with simpler lives and (sometimes misguided) unquestioning patriotism. Doing a WWI literature module for English Lit A Level only fuelled this little obsession, and so considering 2014 is the centenary of the beginning of the First World War I thought sharing some books on the topic would be appropriate!

The Eye In The Door and The Ghost Road are the sequels to one I read for my English Lit A Level, Regeneration, a book I would definitely recommend to anyone! It's about a group of soldiers in 1918 at Craiglockhart War Hospital and their army psychiatrist, and it's a really fascinating exploration of the damage of war on the psyche. I've heard that the rest of the trilogy is equally good, so maybe I'll finally get around to reading it this year...

Wake - Five Days in November, 1920: As the body of the Unknown Soldier makes its way home from the fields of Northern France, three women are dealing with loss in their own way: Hettie, who dances for sixpence a waltz at the Hammersmith Palais; Evelyn, who toils at a job in the pensions office, and Ada, a housewife who is beset by visions of her dead son. One day a young man comes to her door. He carries with him a wartime mystery that will bind these women together and will both mend and tear their hearts. A portrait of three intertwining lives caught at the faultline between empire and modernity, Wake captures the beginnings of a new era, and the day the mood of the nation changed for ever.

The Lie - Set during and just after the First World War, The Lie is an enthralling, heart-wrenching novel of love, memory and devastating loss by one of the UK's most acclaimed storytellers. Cornwall, 1920, early spring. A young man stands on a headland, looking out to sea. He is back from the war, homeless and without family. Behind him lie the mud, barbed-wire entanglements and terror of the trenches. Behind him is also the most intense relationship of his life. Daniel has survived, but the horror and passion of the past seem more real than the quiet fields around him. He is about to step into the unknown. But will he ever be able to escape the terrible, unforeseen consequences of a lie?

Public Schools and The Great War - The book examines the impact which the Great War had on the Public Schools and the sacrificial contribution made to the victory which came in 1918. The war consumed about a fifth of all the public schoolboys who fought, while the survivors were scarred by the loss of so many friends. Based largely on source material from school archives and histories, it moves from the naive excitement of the summer of 1914 to the many moving stories that emerge from the carnage of the Western Front. It looks at school life in those war years, boys with their futures on hold and the prospect of death always very close, Headmasters and staff devastated by the loss of so many young lives.

So those are my top five books I'd like to read to commemorate the centenary; anyone out there got any other recommendations?

Spring 2014: Pastels

So apparently pastels are in again for SS'14 - I don't know who decides these things but I'm not complaining! I love pastel shades and the more there are in the shops, the happier I am - well, sort of, seeing as my budget doesn't stretch to everything I'd love to buy! Here's a list of my top ten pastel buys for this year's sunny spring days (*frantically touches wood*).

1. Topshop - Lipstick in Petal 2. Schuh - Yellow Converse  3. Oasis - Cable Cotton Jumper 4. Accessorize - Oval Rose Bracelet 5. Miss Selfridge - Collarless Neon Zip Coat 6. Cambridge Satchel Company - Peach Pink 13" Satchel 7. Clarks - White Leather Brogues 8. Topshop - Suede Backed Tote Bag 

9. Accessorize - Pink Owl Studs 10. Oasis - Stripe Shirt

I know ten isn't really a pastel shade but I couldn't resist...