Cheer up!

Maybe the sound of a natural soft drink with lavender, chamomile and lemon balm doesn’t appeal to many of you…but don't worry I was thinking exactly the same just before opening my first bottle of Lull. The girls offered it to me as a remedy to help me chillax and de-stress - obviously after seeing me clicking compulsively at my keypad three coffees down. At first, when offered a drink ‘packed with botanical extracts to soothe mind and body’, all I could think about was my grandmothers’ natural remedies, expecting a tea bag filled with questionable looking leaves dunked in lukewarm water. However, when the little white bottle was produced I was pleasantly surprised. The bottle has a clever little lid, a cross between a ring pull and beer bottle cap. This action cheered me up tremendously in the first instance; provoking thoughts of a cool beer in a warm beer garden...after that maybe you would have thought the flavour of ‘botanical extracts’, not even a hint of beer, would have disappointed me, but no! The flavour is unexpectedly delicious and smooth, lightly bubbling, with the over-riding flavours of lavender, kiwi and blackberry. I think I’m going to establish a Lull o'clock in the office, perfect for re-capping on my day and bringing a little order to my desktop …

I have also been hatching a plan to make a Chillax Cocktail by adding a little hit of voddy to my glass first...sure, this could cancel out all of the beneficial effects, but it would certainly give a delicious little lift!

Lull is currently only available from the website. Order a big pack for your office and introduce Lull o’clock….

Get creative

It’s not often that I notice the wrapping that gifts come in, I’ve been told that from an early age I would rip open all my presents in the blink of an eye and undo all my parents hard earned wrapping. However, recently I’ve begun to have more of an appreciation of the difference it can make when a bit of thought is put into how you present and wrap your gifts. That’s why I was very pleased to discover Papermash.

Papermash is an online shop based in London specialising in unique designer stationery supplies and paper goods. All the items are sourced from independent designers specialising in artisan techniques such as letterpress and woodcut printing. I love the quirky Japanese printed tapes, letterpress-printed tags and notecards, embossed notebooks and brightly coloured traditional Japanese Furoshiki (re-usable wrapping cloths) which are sure to make even the most eager birthday girl stop and appreciate their craftsmanship. I’ve also got my eye on the multi-coloured ABC paper cups and various array of decorations which will give me the perfect excuse to throw a party!

If you want to get really creative you can download one of the Papermash craft tutorials to impress your friends with.

www.papermash.co.uk

A splash of colour for our gardens

It’s time to start taking a little bit of notice of that wilderness outside that you have been ignoring all winter – yes, that is your garden and yes, right now it is showcasing a fabulous selection of weeds, interspersed with overgrown shrubs and a rusted barbecue. With a bit of effort your garden could become a little haven for barbecues, dinners and summer parties, allowing you can smugly show off your ‘outside space’ (sorry, house hunting has forced me to adopt estate agent-isms ).

The Balcony Gardener is offering three limited edition seed selections to bring a splash of colour to our gardens this May. The Scented Flowers selection offers a mixture of vibrant, richly scented blooms, allowing you to bask in heady scents of a summer evening (sorry all of this floral speak seems to have influenced my vocab!). The Wildflower Seeds selection offers 30 types of wild flower seeds, this mix is perfect for creating a small flowering meadow, or for cultivating in a few containers. Last but not least (this one is my absolute fave) is the Butterfly Garden Seed blend, specially selected to attract butterflies and other lovely little creepy crawlies to your garden, as well as creating gorgeous drifts of colour.

I have made my selection and this weekend I am going to get sowing. Hurry up, they are a limited edition!!!

Rechargable LED candles

One of my favourite things about the weather we’ve been having recently are the warm evenings and being able to eat and drink outside - there’s nothing better than sitting outside with some delicious food and a couple (ok, a few) bottles of wine. Whether you’ve taken a picnic to the park or entertaining at home candles can enhance the mood of any situation and give any room the oh-so-flattering candlelit ‘glow’. However, the atmosphere created is often short lived as candles blow out and I often spend my time running around re-lighting them (not to mention that they are a fire disaster waiting to happen in my opinion and children seem to love to dip their fingers in the hot wax).

That’s why I was very impressed when I came across a range of rechargeable LED candles from Philips. Unlike the very unrealistic faux candles that you may have seen in the past these candles give off a warm glow and flicker just like real candles but without the dangers of open flames and hot wax. What’s more they don’t blow out every time there’s a gust of wind or it starts to rain as they are fully waterproof and you simply tilt them to turn on and off. The set of three frosted glass ‘candles’ come in a range of colours  and once charged will last up to 20 hours -  perfect for creating a relaxing atmosphere in your home or outdoors.

The Philips Imageo LED Rechargeable Candle lights are available here from Amazon for £19.49.

The shoes we all want

If we were betting (wo)men we would almost certainly be having a little Royal Wedding flutter on the chances of Aruna Seth making one of the FOUR pairs of shoes that Kate Middleton will wear on her wedding day. The big question is, tomorrow will she...or won't she? Aruna told us that none of the four chosen shoe designers will know until they see Kate's feet peeping out from under her dress on the big day - ooh so exciting!

The British born designer’s name has become synonymous with the most luxurious and aspirational bridal  and evening shoes and she is currently stocked at exclusive London bridal stores, Browns Brides and Caroline Castigliano. The attention to detail that goes into her pieces means that each pair of shoes is like a little work of art. Even better, unlike the statement heels that we force our feet into in the name of fashion, for Aruna Seth comfort is key, all of her shoes contain a special plush padded lining – beautiful and practical? Now there’s a revelation!

We can guarantee that if Kate does wear a pair of Aruna Seth shoes they will be a one-off bespoke style created specifically for her...(jealous us??), but for shoes fit for a princess you can visit Aruna Seth to get your hands on something similar. It’s all about living vicariously girls!

PS: I am the proud owner of the Ameronni Black Suede and Crystal Heels and when wearing these babies, I can party all night long  without a second thought about changing into a pair of flats.   These are without doubt the most elegant  and comfortable evening shoes that I have EVER worn!