Frills 'n' Spills

Moving home is the most stressful thing that Mark and I have done this year. I never knew how much stuff you could cram into a flat until I had to sort through it all! I managed to get rid of about 10 bags of clothes in total and we also managed to declutter all the useful paperwork (a.k.a. Dominos leaflets) that we had accumulated. Our new flat is also a 2 bed flat but it is slightly smaller so we had to be really brutal and use our space more carefully but I'm really pleased by the set up we have now. We have a real mix of furniture and homewares but it really feels like home which I think is the most important thing :) The fact that it is only 10 minutes walk from town and has plenty of room for house parties is just a bonus really! ;)

We had some really lovely cards when we moved in and I didn't want to take them down as they really cheer the place up! This table was in our old lounge but has now been folded down and moved to act as a hall table. I was really pleased to be able to use my shell letter holder too. I picked it up in a charity shop in Stow-on-the-Wold three years ago (!) and I have never really had a home for it until now...

Our living room is one of my favourite rooms, it is so light and bright. It is a really unusual shape as it is on the outside curve of the building but we still managed to fit our furniture in which I am quite impressed by...

I love how bright our footstool and cushions are, they really help to brighten up the magnolia colour scheme! These pictures were a gift to Mark on his 18th birthday and although neither of us have been to New York, we will make it there one of these days...

We are definitely not the minimalist types, every side is filled with knick knacks, photos and far too many owl trinkets- what can I say, I am obsessed! This canvas was a gift from my parents last Christmas as me and my sisters loved the one that they had in their kitchen and so we all got one for Christmas which I love. It also reminds me of all the good times we had in Rome too which is no bad thing...

Buttercup, our cow canvas was a birthday git from my friend Matilda to make up for the fact that we had to leave the cows behind when we moved- isn't she lovely?! My parents have always been fans of Ercol furniture and I have inherited their love of the clean lines and 1960s shapes, even if Mark isn't so keen!

We unwittingly managed to create a turquoise theme throughout our house and even the ironing board matches! Until I sort the spare room out, this is the closest thing I have to a library corner and now we have a footstool over here (ILU Tiger!) I couldn't be happier to curl up with a good book!

Our balcony is probably the best part about our new flat and although the view is slightly less pretty than our old one, the novelty still hasn't worn off! 

Our new kitchen is lovely and we even have a DISHWASHER which is the most exciting news ever. Hooray for snazzy kitchen appliances!

Ahem. We will brush over this room as it is our current dumping ground and graveyard for all of our empty boxes. I will sort it out at some point, I promise...!

Our bedroom is my favourite room in the house- it is absolutely huge and has enough built in wardrobe space to fit all of my clothes in which is a minor miracle! We also have an en suite which I love- I have been properly spoilt with this room!

God bless IKEA and their wonderful storage solutions, I don't know how we would store my shoes otherwise!

How do you make a rented property feel like home?

No, I'm not sure in the title either! ;) One of the main reasons why Mark and I moved to Cheltenham was in order for us to have some semblance of a social life. Our old flat was lovely and the views were stunning (I still miss those cows!) but convenient, it wasn't. Luckily where we live now is only about 10 minutes away from town and after-work-activities are now a very real possibility which is very exciting news! I wore this out for food and drinks at the pub and although I usually find that impossible to dress for, I was really pleased with this outfit. Living across the road from Tesco is lethal in many ways (hello reduced food!) but mainly due to the fact that I can now get hold of their awesome clothes without having to order them online- hooray! This purple top also comes in a gorgeous grey and pink but I really love the autumnal feel of this colour. I really love purple but despite that I don't seem to own a lot of it, although I'm sure that will change soon. Especially as long as I am living opposite Tesco!

I have been experimenting with my make-up recently and by the looks of these photos I went a little overboard on the blusher but hey ho, low lighting is very forgiving! I have been using my Primpcess palette a lot recently, the eyeshadows are all gorgeous neutrals and even I can muster up a smoky eye with them! This necklace is an old favourite of mine (here it is back in 2010 and 2011!) and jazzes up this plain top nicely.

The length of this top is awesome and skims over a food baby nicely which is ideal when you are indulging in yet another portion of sweet potato fries ;) Apologies for the less than picturesque backdrop but needs must when it is rush hour! Now we are all unpacked, is anyone interested in a mini house tour? I am super nosy so I love looking round people's houses so just let me know :)

Are you interested in a tour of our flat? Let me know!

As you may have seen from my recent Instagram posts, Mark and I are moving house! We have found a lovely flat and are moving at the beginning of July. As you can imagine, we have a lot of stuff to sort so our weekends and evenings have been pretty hectic recently, hence the lack of blogging. Hopefully things will calm down soon as I miss reading (and commenting on) everyone's posts. This Monki dress was a sales bargain from a while ago and I hadn't worn it until last weekend as I was a little worried about how sheer it is. Luckily when I was in Edinburgh I managed to find some of H&M's infamous lace trimmed cycling shorts that meant this dress was good to go. The slits in this mean that this will definitely be a weekend dress, it is a little too risqué even for my office's dress code!

I have been trying to wear less make up day to day and although I have successfully weaned myself off my foundation and onto my beloved BB cream (ILU Dr Jart!) I rarely go bare-faced. My skin has been slightly better though so I just brushed my eyebrows and added some moisturiser hence the slightly more washed out look than normal. I don't think this will be a regular thing but it's good to know that the world won't stop if I forgo mascara ;)

Last Saturday, Mark and I held a little house-warming party for a few of our friends to celebrate all of the exciting changes that have been happening around here. Luckily I had the perfect outfit as I found this beautiful silk Warehouse shirt in a local charity shop for £6 from £45, unworn with all the tags on. I couldn't have got it to the till any quicker even if it's something different to what I would normally wear!