#2 Make your mark, Primark

I don't know about you, but for me Primark is a bit of a mixed bag. Yes, you can get a lot for your buck, but it's usually so busy, my instinct is to get out of there as quickly as possible. And sometimes the quality can be questionable. Remember these studded boots? The whole underside of one of the shoes just fell off one day. With quality concerns and a potential stressful shopping experience ahead of me, I often lack the incentive to pop into my local. Usually when I go it's because I've seen a nice item featured in a magazine / on YouTube / on a blog. But when you go into your local, do you spot any of the items mentioned in that YouTube video? No. And if they do, they won't have your size. Or anything on the smaller end of the sizing spectrum.

The other day I popped into my local with some friends and I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as crazy hectic as I remembered, and I managed to get lots of lovely bits and pieces for a gift basket that I've been putting together for a friend.

I have always found Primark's candles a little iffy. Sickly sweet and just a generic candle sort of smell. This time round I was really impressed with their candles  - they've really upped their game. A good mix of church pillar style candles, tea lights and candles in jars. The ones in jars are really presentable and look far more expensive than £2 (well, to me anyway!). I picked one up for my friend's gift basket and couldn't resist picking up a couple for myself too!

The citrus and ginger is my favourite. It's really fresh and perfect for spring / summer. 

The berries and orchid candle is a close contender but is more "perfumed" rather than fruity. 

Primark isn't somewhere I really go looking for lingerie  - unless I'm stocking up on basics - but this time I was pleasantly surprised:

I love the dusky mauve colouring, the silky front panels and the polka dot details.

My favourite find was this black and white check dress for a mere £10:

I have yet to try it on. Hopefully it won't come up too short on me (long limbs mean I'm a nightmare to buy jumpers and dresses for!) I also picked up a couple of rolls of wrapping paper because they satisfied my love of everything that is French

At just £1 a roll, I may be going back for more! I love the miniature Eiffel towers, French phrases and the whole "carte postale" style they've gone for.

Have you found anything nice in Primark lately?

Come closer and see, see into the trees, find the girl, if you can

Bank holiday weekends for me are all about baking, photography, trips out, and catching up on sleep. And last weekend was no exception. Triple chocolate chip brownies were eaten on a daily basis and on Good Friday, a trip to the woods felt right.

Lunch break!

Feta and sun-dried tomato pasta:

Lunch time views:

I'd never seen pink forget-me-nots before!

Quite a few up-rooted trees blocked our path...

...but not for long...

The jumper is new. Some of you may recognise it from my Instagram. Believe it or not, it's not from the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour - my Hogwarts sweater is actually from New Look! Intermittent sunny spells in the UK meant there was a chill in the air - and in that sort of weather only a jumper and jeans will do!

7 Easter craft ideas for kids (and big kids!)

Easter and chocolate. A partnership that has been going strong since the 19th century. They go hand-in-hand together, like salt and pepper or bread and butter. As appreciative as I am to still receive Easter eggs, the excitement of receiving an Easter egg - and chocolate in general - is kind of lost on me now. Maybe I've just hit that age. Earlier this week I found lots of inspiring Easter gift and craft ideas on Pinterest - perfect if you have children and want ideas for the up-and-coming bank holiday weekend. But equally inspiring if, like me, you don't have children yet. Has Easter become monotonous? It doesn't have to be...

How cute are these jam jar vases?
Fill them with Easter treats, bright cereals and sweets

Candy carrots are easy to make - just place orange sweets into an icing bag 

Rabbit food! Fill with dried snacks like cereal, pretzels and mini biscuits

Carrot play dough! I'm in my 20's and I'm still excited by Play Dough!

Egg shell candles in egg cups

A packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds is a cute gift idea

As is home made carrot cake in a jar with a home made gift tag and twine:

All the above pinned from Pinterest

There is now even a market for pets. With safe Easter treats for dogs that aren't chocolate:

Pets at Home - £1.75                                                    Pets at home - £5

In recent years advent calendars have evolved to variations without chocolate as discussed here and here. So maybe it will only be time until Easter eggs follow suit. Because if faced with a choice between an Easter egg filled with sweets or an Easter egg filled with beauty treats, I know which one I would choose. Especially if there was a speckled egg effect nail polish inside. Because nothing says Easter like having your nails resemble Cadbury's mini eggs!

What would be hiding inside your ideal Easter egg?

"Springing" into a wardrobe near you

Now that Spring is here, all I want to do is wear pastels - mostly peach, pinks and muted shades of blue - gingham, stripes, pleats, loose fitting blouses and crisp white shirts. Here are my top picks from the high street:

Checked skirts, bodycon dress and camel coat all from New Look

White coat, striped tops and lace cut out dress all from Boohoo 

Checked shorts, tartan skorts and gingham shift dress all from Boohoo

What are your spring staples?

Keep on walking

Weekends are made for wandering around and taking everything in, appreciating every single moment. The other weekend was one of those weekends with no set plan, where anything goes. A "bit of fresh air" soon turned into an eight mile walk along the canal. But when buds are blossoming and you spot canal boats in vibrant colours, eight miles can feel like nothing.

We watched people tee off:

Found beautiful blossom light, right and centre:

Spotted the most curious purple balloon following a boat:

And saw the cutest little cat:

I'm as guilty of moaning about the English weather as much as the next person, but sometimes England is just magical!

Petit à petit / The bargain Whistles sweatshirt lookalike

The other weekend was one of those relaxed weekends with no set plan, where anything goes. A trip into town turned into a walk along Bond Street in the sunshine, popping into the occasional shop, and finishing up with a spot of lunch on Canarby Street.

Walking through Soho, I came across Joy, a store I always pass when I'm en route to a lunch with work. With its enticing window displays, it's always been somewhere I mean to visit, but it always slips my mind. Finding it that sunny Saturday afternoon where I had all the time in the world to browse at my leisure... amazing. My top pick? This grey sweatshirt which gives the coveted Whistles comme ci comme ça sweatshirt a run for its money.

Joy sweatshirt - £35.00

With the Whistles French slogan sweaters retailing in the £75 region, the pricing of this sweatshirt from Joy sat more comfortably with me, and if you pardon the pun, made me jump for joy (sorry). I found my usual size a little on the cropped side, so if you like your sweaters baggy, then I suggest you go up a dress size or two for a looser fit.

T-shirt - £24.00

I probably didn't need the t-shirt version too, but it is by far the comfiest t-shirt I own. Amazingly soft material and the perfect grey colour. I mostly wear mine to yoga as "petit à petit" is very apt for certain yoga positions!

Afterwards we found the cutest little sweetshop and I relived my youth by finding my absolute favourite - chocolate covered honeycomb. Crunchie bars just aren't a patch on traditional, irregular sized nuggets of honeycomb!

What have you been up to lately?

TOPSHOP IRIDESCENT MIDI RING

If you haven't met already, then let me introduce you to The Midi Ring. Basically the equivalent of having too small a ring that you can't slide all the way down your finger. So remember kids: If you have an old ring that no longer fits you, keep it. Sure, it can't reach your knuckles - but you can have it poised by your nail and look very 'fashion'. But if at any time your finger starts to throb or swell, probably time to admit defeat and throw that bad boy out. Better still, buy one new.

I never used to own any midi rings, but it was definitely something on my shopping list. That and some basic stackables so I can create a layered effect. When I went onto the Topshop website the other day, I knew I'd found my 'first'

Topshop iridescent rhinestone midi ring - £4.50

Small, delicate and shiny, it ticks all the right boxes. I dare say it adds an elegance I never knew my hands were capable of.

Have you jumped onto the midi ring bandwagon yet?

Sorry for such a creased and un-ironed bed in the background today. I'm currently off sick from work with flu (also possible tonsillitis). I've mainly been asleep since 8.30 last night so my bed has been quite lived in to say the least!