Old pine

My favourite time of the year is when my mum opens the Christmas box. I still find placing each of the decorations we've collected over the years as magical as I did when I was younger. It's become a tradition in our family to buy a decoration for the tree whenever we go on a holiday or trips away - Each one has a memory, a tale or a giggle to go along side it. Take a look at my day spent dressing the tree...

With Elf on the telly, the X Factor final on reminder and a green fuzzy hot water bottle by my side.. I can say I'm feeling extremely festive...

Do you guys have any traditions at Christmas? I'd love to know...

Harri xxx

A Guernsey jumper, a pair of glasses and some gold shoes...

My mum picked up this Guernsey jumper from a charity shop last week, it's perfect for the freezing weather at the moment, as it's literally the heaviest piece of knitwear I have ever owned.
If you aren't to hot on what a Guernsey jumper is, I can give you some sneaky facts - It was originally a garment for fisherman who wanted a warn, hard wearing, but comfortable item of clothing. They were traditionally knitted by the fisherman's wives and the pattern was passed down the generations of the family.
It's a pretty classic piece as well as super practical. Take a look...

I really love the shape of the jumper, it's pretty unusual - A high neck and a really cool weave on the shoulders. This kind of thing fits into my winter wardrobe pretty well, just paired with a pair of jeans. As the outfits pretty simple I jazzed it up with these gold Banana Republic lace ups - Pretty festive! 
Very kindly I was sent the glasses by Firmoo, they are the world's most popular online eyeglasses store.They launched a really cool program offering free eyewear to first-time buyers so you can test out the quality first. The quality of the glasses was super, and the delivery was speedy, to get your free pair I'll leave their link for you here. I'm not sure how I feel about wearing fake glasses, even though I love them. I had fun wearing them today and hey, they did make me feel slightly more intelligent... 

Harri xxx

A Christmas gift idea for him...

It's finally a few days in to December, with this I feel it's safe to enter the realms of Christmassy posts. My first one being a gift idea for the men in our lives - Brothers, boyfriends, uncles, dads or any other males that you may choose to treat.

I always find it a little tricky to find something cool and interesting when buying presents for guys, especially on a smaller budget. Lucky for us legendary footwear brand Vans have teamed up with our very own British treasure, Barbour. Could say a bit of an unexpected mash-up, but the final products are brilliant. Take a look...

My boyfriend Matt picked up this pair when we were Christmas shopping this past weekend. There are three styles to chose from - Classic Slip-On, Chukka Del Barco and the pair that he chose, the Classic Era Wingtip. They are inspired by the classic Barbour wing tip brogue, with a mix of leather and forest green canvas. My favourite part is the trademark Barbour check that lines the sole. 

These shoes make for a brilliant transitional piece for a guy that dresses quite casual, but wants to add a smarter element to his wardrobe without being too formal. Or in turn, for a male that dresses formal regularly and wants to ease himself into a more relaxed style - A good all-rounder I say! 

What do you think of the collection? Have you got any cool gift ideas for guys?

Harri

xxx

You can buy your Barbour by Vans shoes here

Sabbatical

Hello everyone - It's the long lost blogger. I can only blame the big U word (University) for my absence. What a complete whirlwind the past two weeks have been and I'm still not completely finished.. The group project entailed producing a new copy of our fashion departments magazine. I shall now bow down to anyone that works in the magazine industry... It's been bloody hard work.

On the plus side It's just over two weeks until I finish for Christmas, which can I just mention how ridiculously excited I am. I've just had a peak at the new Kinfolk 'Holiday issue', it's well and truly made me want to cover my room in tinsel and dance to 'Jingle bell rock'.

I thought I'd just give you a peak into our preparations for Christmas at home...

My mum is making Christmas wreaths, which are currently hanging in our garage. They are still in the early stages of her line of production, but I'll be sure to keep you updated with the next step in her process. They really do always turn out lovely - nothing beats a home made Christmas.

Are you guys planning on making any decorations this year? I'd love to hear your ideas...

Harri

xxx

Graduation day...

Yesterday was a very proud day for me and my family as we watched my older brother Leo graduate from University. The whole ceremony was decadent, for a start it was held in York Minster, (definitely worth a quick visit if your up north) such an atmospheric place to be, especially when its echoed with choir singers and raws of proud applause. Here's just a snippet of the day...

 Huge congratulations to anyone else who's recently graduated - such an achievement! 

Harri xxx

Retro tea set...

More often that not I'll get a text from my mum with a charity shop update - The message will usually consist of a simple "what do you think of this?" followed by an attached snap. One of her most recent finds was this retro tea set including a tea pot, milk jug and sugar bowl, all for the grand total of £5... Now this may not be everyone's cup of tea (no pun intended!) but I certainly love it.
With a lot of gaudy or kitsch pieces that you can find in charity shops, it's only a case of taking them away from the dusty shelves and re-homing them in a modern kitchen to obtain the contemporary meets retro look.

The kind of Woodstock'esk 70's print is one of those things, that's so wrong, it makes it right - But when you pare the set back and place it against bright white, the pieces do start to look slick and very cool.

I really love mixing rustic, with kitsch but then also keeping it really clean and modern at the same time, pieces like this are really brilliant for recreating this look as they tie the individual themes together.

Have you guys found any cool second hand pieces recently? I'd love to know...

Harri xxx

Mallorca in November...

I feel like I've been dropped out of the blogging loop for about a year, le sigh! However, it's only been about 10 days since I last posted, in that time I've had a deadline and a presentation (thank the heavens that's over) and a trip to Mallorca with Matt - Could say I'm feeling well and truly pooped.
Here's a few photos of our mini holiday where we celebrated Matt's Birthday, drank lots of coffee, ate delicious food and soaked up some winter sunshine...

Hope you've all had a brilliant week, will now get back to replying to comments and catching up on blog posts, can't wait to see what you guys have been up to too...

Harri xxx