Buying Christmas  goodies in October (the beginning of October no less!) must be an absolute first for me!  Really, it's only been the last two years or so that I've genuinely been excited for Christmas - I think it may be a combination of having my lovely little niece visit at that time of year and a new house that I'm really excited to decorate!  We all love having a rummage around TK Maxx right?  Well I did a bit of that in the Christmas section at the weekend.  Yep, totally bypassing the Halloween section I picked up a fair few bits - impromptu Christmas Haul!

I picked up the Bahoma set of two Noel Noel scented Candles (£9.99) first of all, I love Christmas scents!  Label anything as 'Christmas spiced' and I'm sold.  The Noel Noel candles are tangerine, nutmeg, berry, fir needle and cinnamon scented.  I'm waiting until it gets that bit closer to Christmas before burning them, but these still smell amazing!  Actually I blame these candles for getting me in the Christmas spirit!!

I spotted the set of 4 'Cherish The Season' tree decorations (£3.99) thinking the cute little ceramic acorns and pinecones would fit in perfectly with the simple white theme (with a hint of red) I went for last year, which I loved and had already planned to continue with in 2014.  The white ceramic Reindeer head (£4.99) has the same chalky feel as the tree decorations.  It's the subtlety of this as a Christmas decoration that I really like!  Stag heads and antlers have been popular in home decorating for quite a while now, so what better to have around at Christmas times?  This may end up on my mantlepiece a bit earlier than what's socially acceptable for Christmas decorations!

Finally I picked up what must be everyone's (right?!) must have purchase for around the Christmas period (well, towards the end of the year anyway).  A new diary!  I've only ever seen the 'In Tempo Firenze' diaries in TK Maxx, but I've picked up a few notebooks and journals from this brand in TK Maxx before and have found the quality to be really great for the price - this rather large, real leather diary was only £5.99.  Predominantly in Italian (hey ho, I'm an italophile and can understand the basics!)  this page a day 2015 diary has all the sections you could want, I can't wait to start filling it with notes and appointments!!

Let me know if I'm crazy to have started picking up Christmas bits and bobs already!!

We are no way near the stage where we should be buying ornaments or soft furnishings for our new house, but I can't go into TK Maxx without coming out without at least a few bits and pieces - it's an Aladdin's cave of loveliness for the home, and more!

When we popped in the TK Maxx Home Store, HomeSense, looking for a larger piece or furniture all thoughts of a coffee table or chair went out of the window when I spotted the glass trinket boxes for only £7.99 each.  Both trinket boxes came with a 'Passport to India' label - I wonder if this is a TK Maxx brand as I can't find anything about Passport to India on the web.  I'm not sure what I'll end up storing in these little beauties but I plan on displaying them on them the shelves we plan on installing in the alcove of our living room.

I can't ever resist giving ALL the candles in TK Maxx a good stiff, the Pecksniff's Gardenia & White Peach candle has that lovely fresh laundry smell and with a pretty little silver lid, I couldn't resist taking it home - to also sit on the living room shelves, once they're up!

The last, and possibly my favourite new item, is the cute little wise words journal.  As soon as I picked up the journal Chris asked whether I really needed another note book that I wrote next to nothing in - I suppose he's right, but of course my answer was YES!  how could I resist that little owl motif! 

Are you like me in TK Maxx or HomeSense - never able to leave without a little something?  Let me know if you've picked up any bargains recently!

1. Made.com Gold Florence Pendant Light  2. BHS Lennon 2 Seater Sofa  3. Zara Patchwork Leather Rug  4. Made.com Carraway square Scatter Cushions  5. Made.com Hendrix Woven Skull Cushion  6. Zara Multicoloured Circular Vase  7. Habitat Large Joyce Acacia Coffee Table  8. H&M Moss-Knit Yellow Throw

Just before Christmas we moved into our new home.  It was a long time in the search - 38 house viewings and 6 months to be precise!  We really didn't want a temporary house, which is what our last place felt like (though we loved it!) so I'm really glad we waited for right place.  The location and outlook of the property is what really swayed it for us, and although every room needs something doing to it we were both excited about the potential!

In between family visits and Christmas shopping we (Chris more like) started chipping away at the living room.  We had a hard decision to make, but we decided to take the first step by remove the gorgeous carpet, yeah right!... What would you know, the room looked better straight away!  The photos below show our progress so far - sorry there are a few iPhone pictures in the mix!

As you can see we have painted the walls a light grey (Dulux Egyptian Cotton) and painted the ceiling, coving, skirting and fire surround white.  I love it!  The white fire surround makes all the difference in giving the room a facelift.  Our plans are to lay a dark real wood floor.  We wanted to strip the floorboards as they're in great condition, but we're going to put a new floor in the dining room, kitchen and hall so didn't want to be stepping down a few centimetres into the living room!  We also want to fit some white blinds and then for the fun bit, furniture and accessories!  Chris and I have both agreed we want a stylish grey sofa but I also can't help browsing for decor accessories! 

Because the room is going to be very grey and light I want there to be a lot of bright accents to set it off.  I've put together a few of the pieces that I've been coveting in this post.  Made.com has been my mecca recently, I love the brightly coloured cushions as well a nice statement light fitting!  I can't wait to hit the shops and show you guys the finished room!

Follow us on this blog as we renovate and decorate our new home!  Exciting!

I've got a bit of a different post for you today.  We all know how absolutely freezing this UK winter has been, and even though we're officially in spring the temperatures still haven't been that great.  Well, I've been challenged by British Gas to try out their new Remote Heating Control to see how it could work for me.  I'm going to be sent on some fun lastminute.com activities and experiences so that I can really test out the Remote Heating Control.  I'm really excited about this as it's going to mean some great 'day out' posts, which I'll of course share with you all.  I may even get to final have absolute control over my central heating!  So keep an eye out for posts over the next few weeks.

The Remote Heating Control allows you to quickly and easily control your central heating at anytime from any location, all via a smart little app!  The installation took a little over an hour, and once set up you can instantly set up an online heating schedule.  This allows you to set the timings and temperature of your central heating, but the great thing about the app is that if you're out of the house, you don't have to stick to the schedule you've set if your plan changes!  If you have to stay late at the office - like I often have to - or you plan to pop for some last minute post-shopping trip drinks, you can set your central heating to come on that little bit later... saving you money on that bill!  I sometimes use the app to simple check up on the temperature of things at home!

All via ACHICA

I love the TK Maxx home department, but hate the idea of rummaging through the often jumble-sale style stores for the small chance of finding a little gem!  I was recently introduced to the gorgeous luxury online store ACHICA, which has fast become my new addiction!  No more rummaging through rails and shelves, or being disappointed that a gorgeous item is damaged - something which always happens to me in TK Maxx!

ACHICA is a members only store that offers fabulous brands at discounted prices.  I have to admit that 'members-only' made me think twice, but it's free to join and literally takes 5 seconds to get set up!  With departments spanning everything from home and garden furniture to electrical goods, fashion, food and travel, there is actually something for everyone!  The site works by offering daily shopping promotions, for which you can choose how often you receive e-mail notifications.  The promotions last around 72 hours so you have to be quick if you see something you like, and with  new brands added every day it doesn't take too long to end up hooked!

I've put together a few of the items that I'm watching at the moment.  The Rituals Candle is one of the best examples of the bargains you can find on ACHICA.  Though usually £16.50, you can pick this fig candle up for only £8.50 on ACHICA.com.  The furniture and home accessories departs are my absolute favourite though, it's as if everything has been picked out for my dream house!

Have you ever had a browse around ACHICA?  Let me know if you've picked up any amazing bargains?

*Sponsored post

Primark have done really well with their Christmas home collection this year, and if I was a little less controlled I would have come home with a lot more bits!... I wasn't quite as lucky when it came to the clothes however!

I was very excited to receive these little lovelies in the post last week.  I'm a massive candle fan, which you may have noticed if you follow me on instagram (candle overload or what?!).  This little known company specialises in pretty little handmade, soy based, fragrance candles.  I love how Northumbrian Candleworks candles are completely natural, made from wax created from soy beans... to be honest it had never crossed my mind how regular high street candles are created, but using crude oil seems a little crazy when there's a natural alternative!

These candles are so fragranced!  The Honeysuckle Jasmine* is such a classic perfumed scent, it's fresh and clean smelling.  I seriously feel like I've got fresh laundry on the go all the time the lid is off the tin, and that's not even when it's burning! The Vanilla & Orange* is beautiful too, totally sweet and yummy, but also invigorating... I know it's going to remind me of spring!

The best thing about these candles is the price!  No matter how much I love them, I really struggle to spend a fortune on a candle, I usually get mine a bit cheaper from TK Maxx!  These Northumbrian Candleworks candles start £4.99, and the tea light sets even cheaper, bargain!

1.  Sofapop Ice Ottoman  |  2.  Canonbury Armchair  |  3.  Harmony Oil Painting  |  4.  Collin Coffee Table  |  5.  Nebenun Grey-White Rug  |  6.  Phoenix Pendant Lamp

I've picked up a few pretty bits and pieces over the last week or so and thought it might be nice to share them with you.  There is a bit of a mix of items, some from my recent shopping trip in York and holiday to Gozo where I picked up these lovely accessories and things for the home.

Storage Box - TK Maxx

I'm always searching for some decent storage and recently it's my scarves that have been without a home!  I've tonnes of pretty scarves and when I saw this gorgeous storage box in TK Maxx I immediately thought it was perfect.  I plan on rolling up my scarves and placing them all in here so that they are all relatively easy too see at glance when I'm running out of the house in a rush!

Storage Jars - Lakeland (Herbs & Spices - Gozo)

Still on the storage theme!  I bought some fabulous herbs and spices on one of my trips to Gozo.  These spices are amazing and we put them in nearly all of our cooking, they go particularly well in pasta sauces!  We've always just kept them in a couple of sandwich bags sealed with clips, so I thought it was about time we gave them a proper home!

Plastics Cups - Habitat

These pictures were taken in a really bad light, but these very cute cups are actually purple, pink, orange and red.  These are in the style of those little plastic cups you get in water dispensers, but instead they are a long life durable plastic.  I actually got these for work!  I only drink water at work but there are only ever small glasses in the office, they  are never enough for me so I saw these and thought they'd be perfect to use there!!

Notebook - Organika, Gozo, Malta

If any of you ever get to visit the island of Gozo you really need to visit Organika, in St Georges Square, Victoria!  It's a treasure trove of gorgeous little gifts, accessories, decorations, clothes, food stuffs and more.  All fair trade.  I loved this little pink leather bound notebook at first sight, it's perfect for carrying around in your handbag and the beads on the spine really give it an edge!

Oil Diffusers - TK Maxx

I can't get enough of oil diffusers, they make a room smell gorgeous and are lovely looking decorations with the reeds in them.  I've not actually smelt these yet but I chose Vanilla Cassis and Vanilla Currant.  Yum!

Stud Earrings - Accessorize

These 3 little studs come in gun metal grey, gold and silver, they have embossed detail and just great little staples to have in the collection!

Pumps - Accessorize

I actually bought these cream pumps in London after going down for a meeting last week, my feet were killing because I went down for the day with only one pair of heels, so I suppose I was forced to buy these pretty little shoes ;)  I've worn these a few times now and the flower detail really dresses up a casual outfit.

Bag Hook - Monsoon

This is such a great little gadget ...though it doesn't actually fit on my coffee table, you can get the idea!  It takes up literally no room in your bag and is perfect when in a restaurant or at work / school and want to keep your new bag off the floor.  It's also very cute!

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