a winter walk with tootsa macginty

I'm not sure if it's just where we are, but the weather down here on the South Coast has been so ridiculously mild - it's more like early autumn than winter; when the sun is out, you can comfortably go out without a coat, and loads of the trees still have their leaves. It was great for a while (especially on the day I took these photos - nice not to have to worry about carrying coats as well twenty stones, several sticks and a ridiculous amount of leaves!), but now I'm wishing it would get a bit colder. It just doesn't feel like Christmas if the weather isn't behaving properly!

A few weeks ago, the lovely folks at Tootsa MacGinty got in touch to ask whether we'd like a few bits for the kiddos for the colder months - I've raved about this amazing brand before, so obviously gnawed their arms off with excitement. Wonderfully unisex, brightly coloured and extremely good quality, this is my go-to place for clothes for the littlies when I want to give them something a bit special for a present (when I think about it, it's probably more of a present for me - they'd prefer My Little Pony and Lego, but there you go!) The clothes are pricier than, say, H&M, but the quality is far better - I bought Daisy a pair of trousers from there when she was a baby, and so far they've served her and been passed down twice since. By comparison, her trousers from high street stores seem to last a couple of wearings before holes appear - she's on the go the whole time, so I'm always looking for something robust! Not only that, but the clothes are age appropriate (always difficult when you've got girls....) and the company is registered with SEDEX (Suppliers Ethical Data Exchange), so they're ethically on top form as well. You can't ask for much more than that!

If you've not been on the site before, make sure you have a look - I've included my top picks below, although I think my absolute favourite is the Christmas pudding jumper!

1. Christmas pudding jumper, £38 // 2. Conran  jumper, £38 // 3. Dumfries corduroys £33 //  4. Hand knitted fox scarf, £44, and mittens, £42 // 5. Fairisle yoke knit jumper, £36 // 

The lovely folks at Tootsa MacGinty kindly sent me a selection of clothes to review, but as always, all words and thoughts are my own.

decorate: diy pinecone wreath

Well, that was a rubbish start to December; we were all ill with the flu-ey virus that's going round last week, which meant I got absolutely nothing done, apart from lying on the sofa, watching Netflix and whining. But, we're all better now (*touches every piece of wood in sight*), so it's back to business as usual, phew!

Today I'm going to show you my take on the humble pinecone wreath. I spent ages trying to bind pinecones together with wire, and subsequently getting in a rage when they all fell apart - which is what led to the quickest wreath idea ever. (You'll soon realise that I am all about the shortcuts at Christmas....)

You will need:

Pinecones - mine were those really small ones, because my wreath was going to be small, but any size will do.

Foliage - this is from the path side of someone's overgrown bush - I don't know what it is, but I use it every year. The sticks are quite bendy, and the leaves don't fall off if you so much as look at them, so double-win!

Jewellery wire - mine was 0.5mm. Bendy, but firm. 

A glue gun and glue sticks (mine was £5 from Hobbycraft and has lasted years. Definitely worth it if you do any sort of crafting, ever)

1. Gather your pinecones and foliage - you can pop dried fruits and whatnot on there, but then it turns into more of a general wreath, and I wanted to keep it pinecone-centric. (I made this by candlelight, by the way, because the bulb in the conservatory was broken and I was too lazy to get up and move a lamp. Highly impractical, but so pretty!)

2.  Take your first stick, and bend it into a circle, weaving the two ends together. Repeat with another couple of sticks (depending on how chunky you want your wreath to be), and then fasten everything together with a strip of jewellery wire. Make sure you pull it tight, or the whole lot will ping open.

3. Before you get invlved with any gluing, plan where you want your pinecones to go. I didn't have enough to cover my entire wreath, but I really like it when they're smothered. I chose to put a little bunch on one side, and then a little bunch on the other side, with a wooden star from Wild Damson at the top to hide the jewellery wire.

4. Using the glue gun, attach the pine cones to your wreath base - less is more when it comes to glue guns; you don't want to end up with big lumps of dried glue all over your finished project.

5. Hang up and admire (tea and mince pie optional).

shop: houseology

I've written before about Houseology; they sent me this lovely Garden Trading lamp to review a while ago, and since discovering them, they've become one of my favourite online interiors stores. With brands such as Falcon, By Nord, Cable and Cotton, The Linen Works, Marimekko, Ercol and Ferm Living (basically, all my favourites!), they cover bed and bath, furniture, lighting, home decor and cookware - pretty much everything, for every room and every style.

As well as selling heaps of lovely gifts (think fragrances, leather goods, fine wines and something nice for all the tea and coffee lovers) for Christmas, Houseology are also offering extra reductions on their sale category for Black Friday. Full of gloriously thick knitted blankets, beautiful bedding, soft faux fur cushions and a variety of home accessories, any overnight guests will be able to cosy up in comfort this festive season - so if you're trying to add some warmth to your spare room (or you're like me, and you just LOVE blankets!), look no further than my top sale picks.

From top left:
By Nord Bed Linen, Was £167 Now £93 // Bloomingville Knitted Blanket, Was £149 Now £59.50 // Kinto Couture Plant Pot Knit, Was £19.95 Now £12 // Eichholtz Hurricane Lantern Was £198 Now £126 // HS Eton Cushion, Was £43 Now £30 // OH Faux Fur Cushion, Was £55 Now £35 // Sophie Conran for Portmeirion Tea Cup and Saucer x 4 Was £84 Now £46.50 // Culti Stile Candle, Was £49 Now £19.50 // GreenGate Grands Magasins Jug, Was £33 Now £16.50 //

This is a collaborative post.

give: super giant chunky crochet scarf tutorial

If you're dying to give something handmade this Chistmas, but you're not keen on getting tangled in twine or spending hours up to your elbows in mod podge, don't panic - this massive, overly chunky, super soft crochet scarf works up in an evening and although it looks like a complicated stitch, it's not.

Made from the moss stitch (not the same as the knitted version, by the way), it's constructed lengthways, so the pattern runs across rather than down the scarf. After the initial foundation chain, the only stitches you need to know are double crochet (dc) and treble crochet (tr) - it's literally that easy. (The main reason I love it is because it looks reeeeaaally complicated, but it's not! Ha!)

You will need:
Roughly 5 balls of super chunky yarn (I used Cygnet Super Chunky in Barley)
10mm crochet hook
A large wool needle
Sharp scissors

To make:
Chain 101 (100 plus 1 turning chain)
Foundation row: *1dc, 1tr* in the first two chains. Repeat * to end. Turn.
Row 1: Ch1, *1dc, 1tr* in the first two stitches. Repeat * to end. Turn.
Rows 2-12: Repeat row 1.
Finish off and weave in ends.

I told you it was easy! You can adjust the length by simply adding or reducing the number of chains, BUT moss stitch has to be made up of an even number of stitches, plus one for your turning chain. To make it wider or narrower, just stop crocheting when you feel it's big enough, then fasten off.

To add on the fringing, cut several pieces of yarn roughly the same length, then fold one in half and feed it through a gap in the stitches. You'll have a loop on one side, and two loose ends on the other side; feed the ends through the loop and pull tight, then repeat until you've filled the end of your scarf with lovely fringing. If you're feeling fancy, you could trim them into a point, or chevrons!

shop: the hambledon

Hurrah! Christmas starts here!

First up on my 'shop' series is the wonderful, the lovely, the amazing treasure trove that is The Hambledon in Winchester. Located in one of the most beautiful cities in the South (so many historic buildings and green spaces!), you can find them tucked away by the cathedral, surrounded by a gazillion lovely places to eat and drink (handy!)

The shop is amazing all year round, with shelves packed full of lovely things; Falcon enamelware jostles for space with the softest of table linens and miniature glass bottles, tables are stacked with copies of wonderfully thick cookbooks and interiors tomes, and walls are festooned with garlands, fanwheels and bunting. There's ladieswear and accessories and beauty, menswear, bags, flowers and partyware. Childrens toys, beautifully illustrated books and the crispest sheets of lovely wrapping paper. It is, at all times, one of my favourite places to shop. But at Christmas, it's something else.

At Christmas, the fairy lights come out. At Christmas, there are buckets of foliage dotted about, and wreaths hung merrily on the wall. There is a brightly coloured display behind the till, made up of gift wrapping and decorations, giant fanwheels and tiny boxes topped with pompoms. At Christmas the upper floor is turned into a twinkly, sparkling wonderland; glittery ornaments hang delicately from a tree, while beautifully wrapped gifts in a rainbow of colours are piled beneath. There are snowglobes and miniature trees, decorations for the tree and decorations for the table. Sugary treats nestle on shelves; sumptuous Turkish Delight dusted gently with icing sugar, soft marshmallows and endless bars of chocolate in a variety of flavours.

What's even better is that The Hambledon sell all of these Christmass-y treats online, so if you're not local, or you can't make it to the shop in time, you can still snap up some goodies. Hurrah! In case you're having trouble deciding what you absolutely can't do without, I put together a little guide to make things a bit easier for you.... (hint, hint, Husband!)

(From top left)
Festive Mallow Pop, £3.95 // Moon and Stars Boxed Tags, £9 // Rose Turkish Delight, £9.95 // Large Arrow Ornaments, £9.95 // Glitter Heart Tree Decoration, £3.75 // Snowflake Cookie Cutters, various prices // Large Neon Crackers, £17.50 //

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas....

So, we're into the last week of November, and things are about to get a whole lot more festive around here. Over the next few weeks, posts are mostly going to be divided into three groups: shop, make and give. I've been writing and photographing craft and crochet tutorials, gift ideas and guides to the best places to shop for your home and loved ones this Christmas; I love the festive season, but I always try to put the emphasis on homemade things and trying to shop a bit more independently - hopefully you'll find some inspiration in there somewhere!

I've decided to kick things off with a little Christmas mood board - I love decorating the house at Christmas, but I''m not really into the modern bright colours, I like to keep everything a bit more natural. Last year I went hunting through the woods for foliage and berries, but got a bit fed up with having to replace them so often (berries tend to shrivel after a few days), so this year I'm going to mix in some fake ones (gasp!). I'm really picky about fake foliage though, and it has to look as real as possible - everything in the collage above is from John Lewis, and they're pretty convincing. Wild Damson in Petersfield do an amazing selection of this sort of thing, so that's where I'll be heading. My idea of a good festive lounge is a comfy sofa (we're not in the market for a new one, but I found this little beauty at Sofa Sofa - I love the shape, the wooden legs and the lovely high arms. Perfect for nesting in!), plenty of greenery, berries, pine cones and dried fruits, cosy blankets and lots of candles. Oh and the tree, obviously!

1. Two-pack Christmas decorations, £6.99, H&M
2. Lucca 3-seater sofa, £349, Sofa Sofa
3. British made 100% wool blanket, £49, The Future Kept
4. Jormaepourri midwinter dried fruit hanger, £3.50, John Lewis
5. Lantern, £19.99, H&M
6. Midwinter red berry, cone and rosehip wreath, £25, John Lewis
7. Queen Anne's lace spray, £4, John Lewis
8. Berry garland, £25, Marks and Spencer
9. Paisley print hot water bottle cover, £35, Toast
10. Hand poured botanical candle in Hibernate, £12, The Future Kept
11. Cones and berries, various prices from a selection, John Lewis
12. Baubles, £4 for ten, IKEA

This is a collaborative post.

styling the seasons: november

The Styling the Seasons challenge for November was to produce a seasonal flatlay, that is, a photo taken from above. I'm a big fan of the flatlay, and most of my Instagram pictures are taken like this, so I really enjoyed this month.

The lovely pots, split oranges and dried limes were from an early festive selection from Wild Damson, while the berries and foliage were hacked cut gently from a tree in someones garden  overhanging the pavement. I mostly use fake berries for arrangements in the winter, because while it's nice to go out and find those lovely plump ones, they soon turn all shrivelled and sad - and I'm far too lazy to keep changing them every few days.

The next Styling the Seasons will be December, which I'm particularly excited about - I'm heading off to some of my favourite shops over the weekend to find some lovely little bits and pieces ready for festive decorating. I think we're going to go for a real tree this year, if I can persuade Ali that picking up pine needles every five minutes isn't really all that bad!

Styling the Seasons is run by Katy from Apartment Apothecary and Charlotte from Lotts and Lots - anyone can join in via blogs, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #StylingtheSeasons.