Hello Nancy

Thornback & Peel Christmas Wrapping Workshop Last week I was invited along to a lovely festive event at the Thornback & Peel shop in Holborn to enjoy a wrapping workshop taught by the ladies at Wrapsody . I was so grateful to have an evening with like minded creative people and enjoy a few glasses of bubbly, I was trying to kick a cold and I felt pretty sorry for myself so the night was very welcome.Oh, mum look away now, I know you read

How To Create a Natural Halloween Display I love Halloween. Every year I get more and more excited about it, I just wish the UK celebrated it as much as people over in America do. I remember an amazing holiday in Florida when I was little where even the pool man was dressed up (as the Tin Man in 40°C I must add!). In an attempt to avoid the mass produced crap that so many stores peddle us during this time of year I wanted to create

How To Create a Natural Halloween Display I love Halloween. Every year I get more and more excited about it, I just wish the UK celebrated it as much as people over in America do. I remember an amazing holiday in Florida when I was little where even the pool man was dressed up (as the Tin Man in 40°C I must add!). In an attempt to avoid the mass produced crap that so many stores peddle us during this time of year I wanted to create

Exploring Hampstead Heath At the weekend myself and my lovely friend Freya headed out to Hampstead Heath for a walk. We arrived armed with our Thermos flasks filled with hot vegetable soup and ginger tea to enjoy in the beautiful sunshine. It was the perfect day to don my beautiful new winter boots from Celtic & Co, you really can't go wrong with navy suede.After chatting and eating our packed lunch we slowly strol

Spiced Orange Gin Fizz If you're feeling a little blue now the nights are drawing in this cocktail is bound to cheer you up. Cooler weather is the perfect excuse to spice up your drinks a little and this one is flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg making it the perfect warming cocktail for autumn. You can easily omit the gin and Aperol to make this alcohol free, it would also be delicious with the addition of ginger a

Black & White Turkey seemed to be the perfect place to take my new pieces from Finery out for a spin. I really miss the balmy nights and last warm rays of the sun now I'm back home in London.On our penultimate evening on holiday Simon and I popped out for a stroll to take some photos before dinner, out of nowhere two hilariously chatty black cats decided they wanted some attention from the camera too. They

My Mental Health Journey & Happy Bags Today I have a special and important post to share with you all. I'll be writing down the honest account of my mental health struggle and what I did to change it all around. I wanted to do this today (the 10th of October) as it's World Mental Health Day. To celebrate being open and honest about mental health issues myself and my friend Ana of Cocowawa Crafts have collaborated to make a spe

My Favourite Autumn Recipes Although I'm currently laying on my bed in Turkey enjoying a break from the midday heat there's a part of me that can't wait to get back to London to enjoy the cool Autumnal weather. It's always quite strange coming on holiday to a super hot country only to return to a much colder climate. When we left the UK we were experiencing a proper Indian Summer so I'm a little nervous t

The Dordogne This summer I embarked on my first holiday with Simon's family. The Hackings holidayed in France every Summer when Simon was younger and are huge Francophiles, after 10 days lounging around the cottage, eating too much brie and walking along the The Dordogne I can see why.I've only been to France twice before, which is quite rare for a Brit, but after our stay I can safely say th

The Best Fabric Shops and Haberdasheries in the UK I'm very lucky because in London I get access to so many wonderful haberdashery and fabric shops, as a textile designer I love popping into to some of my favourite stores to browse their range of patterned cloths. A few years ago I discovered the joys of home sewing and dressmaking and the search for a new indie dressmaking patterns and fabric became a little addictive.Not only do I love sewin

Getting Back to Basics I’ve been trying to pare down a curate a simpler wardrobe recently. I’m not at the capsule wardrobe stage just yet, in fact I’m not sure i’ll ever wan’t to be, but I’m really happy with the state of my current collection of sartorial options. I recently decided to update my wardrobe and include some more minimalistic and basic choices. Despite working as a freelance pattern design

Brides Bloggers Dinner Recently I was very lucky to be invited to a magical evening organised by the Brides Magazine team. I arrived at the Haymarket Hotel and shown to a private lounge where I was greeted by a room full of like minded wedding and lifestyle bloggers, soon after I found myself chatting away with a lemony cocktail in one hand and a canapé in the other. This special event gave me the opportunity to m

Summer Berry Meringue It feels as though Summer is starting to wind down here in London so in order to help hold on to the season I wanted to make something synonymous with sunny days. Meringues are so easy to make and are an instant crowd pleaser, I have trouble digesting wheat but this naturally gluten free recipe make meringues a perfect sweet treat for anyone.I was kindly sent the 3 in 1 blender by Savisto to

Wedding Inspiration No.2 So a lot has happened since my last Wedding Inspiration post. I've chosen my dress and my shoes which you can read all about right here (lots of dress shopping tips in that post) we have also chosen our florist, photographer, cake designer and we have our venue sorted. The venue is the most special puzzle piece as Simon and I will be getting married in my sister's 17th Century tower house

Party Table Decorating Tips Who doesn't love a good party? As Summer will be over in a few months I wanted to share my favorite tips to creating a perfect party table so you can throw one last hurrah for the season. This tablescape design is also perfect for a feminine birthday shindig, tea party, Easter or even a Hen / Bachelorette party. Keep reading to find out all my styling secrets.I simply used items I already had

Top Tips to Find your Perfect Wedding Dress Wow what a week of wedding planning I've had! Last night I got back to my London flat after visiting my family back home in Newcastle for some much needed family time and wedding chats with my mum. I'm happy to say that we got a lot ticked off my to do list but the best day we had together was our visit to the stunning Kathryn Trueman bridal store.I really didn't expect to find my wedd

How to Style and Shoot Photos Perfectly I absolutely love styling and the process of taking photos for my blog and my homeware shop is one of my favourite creative processes. I work as a freelance stylist for various magazines and I have become more and more interested in styling over the past few years. I take great pride in decorating my little North London home by sourcing vintage and unusual pieces and I equally love styling th

My Relaxing Morning Routine Since going freelance my morning has become increasingly important to me. When I used to have to get up and out of the house to get to work I had limited time to get ready and I didn't treat my morning with much importance. Now I have time to take it a little easier as I don't have to factor in a commute to work, these days I try to spend at least an hour on myself and my mornings have bec