Posts in Collaborations
Better Thinking • Parker Pens

I am a sentimental soul. My sister might refer to me as a hoarder but I see myself as a collector of memories. Over Christmas we watched the film Inside Out, which if you haven’t seen it, is a beautiful Pixar film about the importance of the core memories in your childhood and all the influences that make you the person you grow up to become. 

I consciously collect and squash into shoe boxes and dog eared gift boxes, plane tickets, champagne corks with the date and occasion of why we popped them scrawled around the rim and the glittery creations the boys have made and handed me with such pride in their eyes as they race out of their classrooms.

I keep little things that provoke big memories. My girl guide sash complete with hand sewn badges, my nursery school workbooks from when we lived in Bahrain when I was 3, to University halls of residence t-shirts and pieces I was allowed to keep when we lost my grandparents. I have my granny’s suitcase filled with packs of cards from their bridge playing days, a little embellished match box that sat on their mantlepiece and her handwritten recipe book, amongst lots of other little things dotted around our home. 

My cousin has my grandpa’s traditional writing desk in her home office, he always kept it immaculately organised, letter opener to the right, magnifying glass to the right, or at least that’s how I remember it. He sat at his desk in their study and opened each letter carefully and precisely, then took his pen and noted down any tasks or responses required. I remember both of their gentle penmanship, ink eloquently drawn on paper, with flow and such class. My granny had an enviable and natural italic style and my grandpa wrote holding his fountain pen between his second and third fingers after he was shot serving in the army.

I only remember them writing in ink, and it always felt so special receiving a letter from them, knowing the ritual and routine they would have gone through, sat at the desk, collecting their thoughts and then putting pen to paper. One of our family treasures is my grandpa’s Parker fountain pen, which must be over 50 years old! 

So when Parker sent me one of their new Sonnet range fountain pens as part of their Better Thinking campaign, I couldn’t wait to compare them and see how their distinctive and timeless design has evolved. The iconic arrow clip just invites you to run your fingers over the three subtle grooves and the sound when you release the cap leaves a satisfying pop in the air. I have never held such a beautiful pen in my fingers, an 18k gold nib so shiny, you can see your own reflection, masked only by the precision etchings crossing the centre. 

They are masters of their meticulous craft. And it makes you feel like you could rewrite the prettiest calligraphy or prose. It makes me want to write like I am a conductor in a grand orchestra, waving the Ciselé pattern design wildly over the page in long fluid stokes. From the moment you lift the grey cloth lid of the cushioned box to snapping the cartridge into place, there is a glorious ritual that makes me smile. I don’t know whether it’s the silky smooth grip, gold plated trim, the weight of the jet black cylindrical barrel, or the ebony ink that gently flows from the nib but it makes the words on the paper feel worthy of greater consideration.

It makes me want to rush less. I scribble notes all the time, on scrap bits of paper, on the bottom of diary pages and on the backs of letters stuffed in their book bags from school. But when you write with a fountain pen you want to take more time. Consider what you really want to say, what deserves to be detailed forever in black and white. 

I wanted to start my own book, but being a terrible cook I knew a recipe book like my beloved granny’s wasn’t something I would start and stick to. But then my sister gave me a copy of The Flower Recipe book and I had a light bulb moment. All through the year I arrange and rearrange my own floral arrangements and displays on our painted blue Edwardian sideboard in the sitting room. I tilt my head, stand back and tease vases into position, sometimes with ridiculously precise symmetry, only to find the wobbly floors and wonky ceilings means the centre is never the absolute mid point! I share photos on my Instagram feed and I thought it would be a lovely sentiment to document and record all my own flower recipes.

I want to create a scrap book of ideas, with photos from my feed, write down what species and stems I used and what vessels and vases I placed them in. All these posies and home made bouquets have brought me so much joy over the year. I love looking back at the seasonal blooms I bought from local florists and the incredible flowers and foliage my neighbour delivered, in bursting black buckets from her garden each week, from my birthday right through to the middle of October. 

And a special book, one I am going to add to over the coming years, deserves thought and special care. And I couldn’t think of a more beautiful way to record it than with my new Parker pen.

A collaboration with Parker.

#CapturingColour • Win £100 Rose and Grey Interiors Voucher

Hello to a brand new year of capturing colour. I don't know about you but these seemingly endless grey days are getting me down, so every day I look for the colour in my pocket of the world. 

I may not have turquoise blue seas to hand, tropical palm trees, brightly coloured pool inflatables but I have brightly coloured papers, flowers from the garden and some gorgeous new home accessories from Rose and Grey! I make my own sunshine when there's none shining from the sky.

As much as I love our neutral white and grey walls, I need an injection of colour in our home decor. Upstairs we have renovated the guest bedroom (which I will share soon) in a nautical colour palette of red white and blue in a coastal meets country style. White wicker and red bed blankets, blue stripe blinds and painted furniture. Our bedroom and en-suite is the next room update after we have the whole house ripped apart for new heating, plumbing and electrics. I think we will need to move out for at least a week - one for the dust and two for the pain of having to watch all the walls and floor get knocked about! I have fallen in love with the blush rose tones that continue to dominate home styling and need to decide whether to combine our dark wood bedroom furniture with such a delicate colour scheme or whether we should give it all a lick of furniture paint as a quick makeover project. 

I am finally committing to wallpaper in the hallway. It feels like a very bold statement and it's taken 6 months to decide which print I want to walk past every day! It needs a splash of whimsy and fun to balance the cool white walls and dark wood herringbone floor. Roll on the 18th when it's being hung and I can share some photos.

January feels like the month where you analyse your home don't you think? A time when you've cleared away all the clutter of Christmas and suddenly your rooms feels bigger and brighter and you start spotting all the nicks and marks everywhere. We had the stairway painted and when the sun hits the landing all I can see are the ripples of sticky fingers which slide down the walls every day! I want to keep it white for now to help bounce light into the upstairs but need to update our three big window frame photo collages that have been sat in the garage since we moved. The pictures are currently black and white but I am wondering whether to print new favourites in colour this time to bring some warmth to the stairs. Decisions, decisions.

I love how everyone is looking for colour too and the #capturingcolour gallery is just a visual delight. A couple shy of 27,000 posts joining in with seeking out every colour of the rainbow.

I loved these beautiful soft tones, the muted pink hues and the calmness in each frame. Pop over to Instagram and find these lovely accounts to follow. 

I think it's quite fitting that we have officially started a new year of #capturingcolour on a January Monday - for some reason I feel those Monday blues that but harder in January!

For the next fortnight I will be joining colourful forces with Rose and Grey to bring you some of their beautiful products and give you the chance to win £100 voucher to spend on some goodies for your home.

Rose and Grey was founded by a husband and wife team with two boys, including an Ollie like me! I love how they mix vintage and modern styles, and it's a treat to collaborate with a thriving family business who adore that modern heritage style I love. Exposed brick mixed with dark woods and white as a backdrop to pops of colour.

We tucked into a family brunch on Sunday and the fabric lined bread baskets made it feel just that little more special

I'm actually tempted to squirrel them into my office and use them for all my ribbons and stationery bits, they fit perfectly under my desk riser and will be the perfect excuse to reorganise all my twines and tapes!

They are so handy to keep all my dried petals and little props in for photos... I can see them never entering the kitchen again!

I am on a mission to sort my desk and office space this January too, there's paper and pens and scrap bits of material everywhere and I totally believe in the principle of a tidy desk equals a tidy mind. I need physical space to give myself mental space if that makes any sense?! I have lusted after this baby pink toolbox forever and it is just the right size for all my craft supplies. Long enough for my roll of hessian I use every week and deep enough for pots of paint and small tins of spray paint. But before I filled it with glue guns and left over confetti supplies I couldn't resist snapping some photos with a few flowers from the garden. Can you believe the daffodils are out already?!

The perfect prop for some Spring inspired photographs before I filled it up with glittery string! 

I've been decorating the house with poppy seed heads and corns dried from my neighbours garden. I love the calmness of the neutral colour palette for the sitting room, the mix of greys and blues with the warmth of the sun kissed husks. 

An everlasting bouquet that is sitting pretty in this bubble vase, on an old butler tray and stand I picked up at an antique centre over Christmas. 

For your chance to win a £100 from Rose and Grey all you have to do is share a photo to Instagram and tag #capturingcolour. 

To qualify for the give-away you must tag @roseandgreyinteriors in your photo, comment or caption and follow on Instagram.

Find Rose and Grey HERE.

Entries close at midnight GMT 24th January 2016.

Open to UK residents only. 

Good luck and we can't wait to see your colourful captures. Good luck!

Mark Warner Ski Holiday • The big surprise

Over the last year or so I've poured my heart and soul into my blog, my photography, my Instagram and everything that goes with being this weird and wonderful role that is a blogger. I've fallen more in love with blogging if that was possible and over the last 18 months I have stopped introducing myself as a property consultant and instead I always start with, and proudly I might add, I'm a blogger.

I've made lifelong friendships with people which started as a Twitter chat back and forwards and worked with companies that quite frankly are dream collaborations.

There's been a lot of discussion in the blogging community lately about the purpose of your blog, getting back to the true essence of why you started, not succumbing to the commercial world that is so tempting as your follower numbers start to grow and taking more time out, to reconnect off line and embrace a slower pace of real life.

But I feel differently, blogging makes me feel empowered, as a parent and as a working mother. My blog is a way that I can reach people I might never meet, who can know me, know my family values, read my waffles, worries, celebrate the highs and get me through the lows of real life. I may not always share them, but they are there, in the background, estranged family members, heated arguments with my husband and tearful conversations with best friends when you feel like you are trying to do everything and failing and achieving nothing at all!

My blog is a way to involve my children in my working life. Not to put them to work - but give them a sense of appreciation and respect for what I do for 8, 10, 12 sometimes more hours a day, and a way for us to record some incredible memories. To show them how hard we both work, why their playroom gets taken over as a photography studio and why I think it's important to work hard and be nice.

This blog has brought my little family together.

I love that I have this record of their young lives, a digital footprint for them to look back on. They might not always be the focus of this blog but everything I do is with them in mind. To work to earn money to pay for house renovations, new clothes, Christmas presents, trips out with friends and family and making connections that lead to new family friendships and companies who we would be proud to represent.

This year it has been our great pleasure to be a Mark Warner holidays family ambassador and share what was honestly the best holiday we have ever been on. We literally will talk to anyone who vaguely shows an interest about a family holiday about what a game changer our trip to Lakitira in the summer was. We repeat the phrase we heard so often around the resort "Once you go Mark Warner, you never go back!"

It made us look at the meaning of a family holiday in a whole new light. 7 days to make you feel relaxed, refreshed, rewarded and reconnect with your children. It's hard to explain how a holiday with childcare helps you do that but it does. It makes you appreciate them more, because you want to rush to pick them up, you want to spend all lunchtime chewing their ears off about what water sports they have just learnt or what songs they are  for the end of week show. You don't want to pass them your phone to keep them quiet under the glow of the Youtube video. You really want to be with them.

I don't think it's shameful to admit a holiday is for you too. Time to be a family, time to be alone and time to remember the couple you were before your had your babies. For us there is no going back ;)

So can you imagine how hard it's been keeping a big secret from the boys?! Tomorrow morning we fly to Méribel in France for our first family ski trip with Mark Warner. I'll be taking over their Instagram account for the week and sharing lots of photos online so come along! 

I made a jigsaw and set a treasure hunt around the garden and it took a few minutes for it to really sink in. They were sort of in disbelief at first and then the screams came...!

2 boys find out they are going skiing!

I'm listening to them snoring in the hotel at Gatwick and I can't sleep. I just keep thinking of their faces when we land and get to the resort and they see the snow. Even at 6, Sammy can't really remember the snow storms we had in the UK a couple of years ago, he looks at photos and smiles but they are not real living memories. This is going to be the magical one, the one we talk about for years to come. We haven't even got there yet but I just know it's going to be extra special.

See you in the snow!