Eye Test at David Clulow Opticians and New Glasses!

I have a confession to make. I have been living in the UK for over seven years (where has the time gone?!) but I still go to my opticians back in the Netherlands for eye checks and new glasses every time I am back home. I always find it a reassuring feeling to visit someone who has known my glasses history for many years and who I know provides quality service and products – and here in the UK the cheaper brands you see pop up on every high street never appealed to me. However, I recently discovered David Clulow opticians, which while having multiple stores across the country, felt as personal as my family-owned opticians back home.

My May – September 2017 favourites

In my last favourites post I said I would return to monthly round-ups didn't I? Well, I absolutely failed at that one... It's not that there weren't any things to enjoy, but with work and life still being crazy busy I haven't had as much time on the weekends for blogging and taking photos as I would've liked so this is one series that has suffered as a result. I will try to do better the rest of the year (try being the operative word here), but for now here are some things I've thoroughly enjoyed recently, from an autumnal hand soap and a cosy scented candle to charcoal toothpaste tabs and my old Nintendo DS, which I've rediscovered.

My January - April 2017 Favourites

Even though April is already nearly over, this will be my very first favourites post of 2017, oops. In all fairness though this has been an absolute whirlwind of a year so far. I don't tend to stand still too long by negatives on here when I can but after lots of stresses around family, health and work it's only now I feel I am resurfacing and getting back on track – with my blog and life in general. Because this is 4 months worth of favourites there are a bunch of them in all sort of different categories; from a TV-show addiction (hello Riverdale) to Instagram, and from making smoothies to newly discovered fashion brands. So without further ado, here are my favourites so far of the year (in no particular order, because choosing is hard).

Highlights From BlogCon London 2017

On Saturday my friend Laura and I ventured over to Scarlett London Digital's #BlogConLDN at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster. I'd recently been to the same location for a work event, so it felt a bit weird returning, but of course it was for a much more fun occasion: a conference specifically designed for bloggers! There were a ton of exhibitors to chat to and lots of inspirational presentations throughout the day, and I'd like to share with you some of my highlights from the experience – including top tips from the talks and my favourite brands!

Spirit of Christmas Fair – My Favourite Exhibitors

The first Christmas event of the season, House & Garden's beautiful Spirit of Christmas, has already finished and I'm feeling properly festive now! The fair was filled with tasty brands and unique crafts & decorations, and I had a wonderful time browsing the stalls to pick up gifts for friends and family members. I won't share pictures of my purchases as to not spoil the surprise, but I did want to highlight some exhibitors that particularly stood our to me with beautiful and high quality products. The fair may have already finished, but I included the website links for those where I picked up a business card, so you can still buy your own presents for the holidays from these talented British businesses.

Canada Shopping Haul

One of the things I was excited for on my trip to Canada was... shopping! I'm not a massive shopper usually but I do have the occasional urge to treat myself, and where better than somewhere where they have a host of shops unavailable to me in the UK? I didn't end up buying loads for myself (partly because on my very first day I had to buy a new charger for my MacBook, which was a hit to my funds, and partly because most of what I bought were actually gifts for my family), but I did find some things I loved for myself too. I mostly browsed while in Vancouver and then made my purchases in Edmonton as there is a much lower tax rate there (and the West Edmonton mall is also the biggest shopping mall in North America so I had easy access there to everything in one place). Check out my purchases below, divided by beauty, clothes, homeware, food and souvenirs.  

My Month in Favourites – October 2016

October was when two of my favourite things in life collided: autumn and Canada. Autumn is my favourite time of year; I absolutely love the colours, smells and cosiness of the season, and this year has thus far been particularly great with barely any rain in the UK. *knocks on wood* And then there was my long-anticipated holiday to Canada which was everything I wanted it to be and then some. I'm doing a weekly travel blog on my adventures so won't go into too much detail here, but of course couldn't let it off my favourites. As for tangible things I enjoyed this month, they include stunning non-fiction books, beautifully smelling products from Bath & Body works, fluffy fox socks, the best hand cream for dry autumn hands from Cath Kidston, and comfy flannel shirts I picked up in Bluenotes.

The Disney X Cath Kidston Winnie the Pooh Collaboration

I love Cath Kidston and I love Disney, so when the two brands announced their collaboration I couldn't have been more excited. I signed up for the newsletter and pre-sale, and even cheekingly emailed the PR office to see if there would be a press viewing I could attend so my blog about the products could go live the same day it launched in shops. Sadly my emails went unanswered, so on Monday 26 September I counted down the hours until my lunch break instead to rush to the shops for an impromptu photo shoot of the collection that was absolutely flying off the shelves.

My Month in Favourites – September 2016

I am going to Canada tomorrow! I bet you can guess what will dominate my favourites in October. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and look back at September today instead. This month for me has been all about getting in the cosy autumn mood with new jumpers, slippers and a comforting scented candle. I also enjoyed some new and old TV-shows, including, of course, The Great British Bake Off, and fell head over heels in love with the Disney X Cath Kidston collection.

Jewellerybox Karma Moments Launch

I talk about Jewellerybox a lot, both on my blog and in real life. So much so that I had a friend jokingly ask me if I get paid for it. I don't, but when I love something I do tend to tell everyone about it – and this brand is one of my absolute favourites. So when they mentiond their new Karma Moments range at the Bloggers Festival and extended an invite to attend the launch, I of course couldn't say no.

My Month in Favourites – June 2016

June was a crazy busy month. I was in the Netherlands for part of it yet I still managed to pick up a new TV-show and watch the entirety of it (hi Brooklyn Nine-Nine obsessions, hi), I started rereading A Series of Unfortunate of Events in anticipation of the Netflix adaptation, I went to events such as West End Live, the London Musical Theatre Orchestra launch gala, and The Bloggers Summer Hangout, and I still managed to do lots of shopping (new favourites include stationery brand Kiki-K and two new handbags I bought) and finish all my end of quarter reports at work. It was a full-on but productive month.

My Month in Favourites – May 2016

I'm currently in the Netherlands enjoying some of my favourites things in life; my family, all of the cheese, Dutch shops and oranjekoek (an orange cookie-cake hybrid my mum saved for me from King's Day) and I can pretty much write a whole favourites post just about my time here. But since it's only been 2.5 days out of the whole month I won't, and instead my favourites consist of some clothes, a book (surprise, surprise), a great restaurant I ate at in the past month, and hand soaps I'm absolutely addicted to.

My Jewellerybox Favourites

I love Jewellerybox. Not only do they sell pieces that perfectly match my style (Sterling Silver dainty studs, bracelets and necklaces are my favs) but they're also super affordable, great quality and based in the UK. Their packaging is also adorable and very photogenic. If I've seen you in the last year it's very likely I've told you about this brilliant brand already or I've even gifted you something from them for a birthday or other special occasion. And I've mentioned them on my blog a few times before already as well but as they're a firm favourite of mine – and they're a small business – I'd love to support in any way I can. So, without further ado, check out some of my favourite jewellery from the brand below and make sure you pop by their website to view their entire incredible range (they also have lovely pieces in rose gold and gold).

My Month in Favourites – February 2016

My blog often is consumed by book and theatre reviews and events coverage yet there is a lot more I enjoy, so I decided to start a new feature in which I will talk about some other things I loved in the past month. This can be anything, from great videos and inspirational articles to my favourite foods and handy links. In February 2016 I rekindled my love for YA fiction, went on a clothes shopping spree and discovered quirky new brands, ogled stunning children's classics in hardback, played around in the kitchen trying new dishes, and became addicted to Booktube and the Amazon wish list browser button.

Black Friday sale at one of my favourite brands: Jewellerybox

I realise I have mentioned Jewellerybox quite a bit recently! I am not working with them in a sponsored capacity or anything like that, I just genuinely adore the brand and the amazing range of products they offer. For years I've been on the look-out for affordable, dainty sterling silver jewellery and while I've occasionally splurged on Etsy and at Oliver Bonas, none of them come even close to the incredible price and quality ratio from Jewellerybox. And so when they told me about their Black Friday sale on tomorrow, I wanted to share a little blog post about this to let as many people know about it as possible – 'cause it's a good one!

Winter Wonderland at Jewellerybox's Pop-Up Shop

Ever since I discovered the wonderful Jewellerybox at the Big Blogger Conference, I've been in love with their products. And even though I splurged on lots of new sterling silver pieces when I went to their pop-up in Brixton (multiple necklaces, earrings and a bracelet), I've been eyeing their website since my last visit and on Saturday I had the opportunity to look at all the gorgeous jewellery in person once more, this time at their pop-up shop on Brick Lane.

Bangle making workshop with Jewellerybox.co.uk

I loved The Big Blogger Conference, which I attended last month, for many reasons but one of the very best things was discovering some fabulous new brands, of which Jewellerybox.co.uk is by far my favourite. Their stand at the conference was beautiful, Gemma was lovely, but most of all their incredible products speak for themselves. I was thrilled when the gift box I received at the conference contained their adorable sterling silver dinosaur studs – and I've been wearing them non-stop since.

I have also visited their website. A lot. And made a huge to-buy list. Which, despite the number of items on it didn't rack up a high bill at all. Because while each product I wanted to get is sterling silver (all I ever buy), the pieces are SO affordable, meaning I can expand my collection of cute silver studs, necklaces and bracelets without breaking the bank. Brilliant. Normally a web-only store they had a pop-up in London's Brixton this month and of course I had to give them a visit to admire their full collection in person. I also emailed over my order to Gemma, who made sure that it was ready to pay for and collect when I popped by (and I may have bought even more while there, ssshhhh).

And as an extra bonus, they also held a bangle making workshop for some bloggers, which was such fun! It was actually a lot more time-consuming than you'd expect and we didn't even do all steps as the main part was already prepared for us. We did get to make the rounded ends, smooth the edges of the bracelets, take a tiny hammer to the charm to create a cool texture, add our initials, fill it in with paint and attach everything together. They made it look so simple, but it really wasn't and it made me appreciate the time and effort that goes into making fabulous jewellery pieces even more.