Urban Jungle Bloggers / Gift A Plant

I just love being a part of the Urban Jungle Bloggers community - I get to feed my obsession for collecting plants along with likeminded friends, you know, we kind of egg each other on. And it's a healthy habit...perhaps not so much on the bank account but most definitely for the spirits. So it was a brilliant surprise to find that this month's topic was to offer a friend a plant, it could be in the form of a May Day posy, introducing a friend to a new variety for the windowsill or perhaps a pot of herbs for the kitchen. I for one could not wait!You'll forgive me if my contribution is somewhat cryptic, but my gift has yet to reach its recipient and I wouldn't want to give too much away in case they're reading...Recently, this friend of mine has helped me realise a couple of dreams (more on this soon, promise) and has been a brilliant support. So I'd had it in mind to send a gift for a while now as a way of a thank you and, knowing how much they love plants and handcrafted pieces of pottery it was obvious what to send. There was only one place I could go too, the Aylesford Pottery, just a ten minute drive from our home. I took the children with me and both were on their best behaviour as we watched a potter bring to life a vase from a simple lump of clay on his wheel and chose two beautiful pieces to take home.The plants are, unfortunately, only a virtual offering as after much research I discovered that sending plants to other European countries isn't allowed...so let's just imagine they are. The cactus made me giggle. For obvious reasons. Don't make me explain. And I think the other is a type of Aloe, or possibly a Jade. I chose them simply for their shape and vibrant colour, the cactus promising to bloom at some point soon.Made by my ridiculously talented friends across the pond in Baltimore, Jolly Edition who produce the most beautiful illustrated stationery, this sweet little Grey and White Herbs card will accompany the pots on their journey across the English Channel. Ooops. There's another hint.By the time you read this, these beautiful, hand-thrown pots will be on their way to be home to two lucky plants chosen by my friend. Thank you. If you'd like to take part or find out more, check out the Urban Jungle Bloggers community or follow #urbanjunglebloggers on your social media.

Bedroom Refresh / Better Sleep Month

Gosh-is it May already? This month, if you didn't know, is Better Sleep Month and with this in mind I finally got my act together and gave our bedroom a little spring refresh following on from this winter post. It had been needing an update for a while now with the bedside lighting and a new print waiting to go up (aren't they amaaaaazing?!) so last weekend we got our heads down and Rob got the drill out. It's not quite finished yet (is it ever?!) as there's still new bedding to come - I'm experimenting away from classic white but for now, this is us.It got me thinking about what the perfect bedroom environment is and how not creating the right setting can really affect your mood. Essentially, it has to be a place that promotes sleep but also a space to nest, relax and make plans (I always have moments of inspiration as I'm falling sleep). In an ideal world, our room would be a lot more spacious...maybe with a roll top bath, tall ceilings boasting architectural features and a huge bed so that if we do have the kids in with us then the customary sleep gymnastics won't be as noticeable. As we don't live in a New York townhouse, this will do. Sure, it's a little on the small side with an awkward cupboard taking up space but as we're not really "stuff and clutter" people anyway the minimal look works for us.And what about you? I've teamed up with bedding experts Soak&Sleep as part of Better Sleep Month to delve into what gets us into and out of bed every day. We'd like you to tell us what makes for a good night's sleep-whether it's all about the pre-bedtime hot chocolate (that's mine) or a good book. Fancy sharing? Spend a couple of minutes with our questionnaire and you're in with a chance to win £150 to spend at Soak&Sleep. It is ALL about the charcoal grey French linen if you ask me...

The Nitty Gritty

To enter you must complete the questionnaire in full with the correct contact details. The winner will be drawn after the questionnaire closes at Midnight GMT on May 22nd and will be contacted via email. The prize of £150.00 can be used across any of the Soak&Sleep collection and there is no cash alternative.

Photography & styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley

Doe Leather Lookbook

"Oh My God!" is pretty much what I said when these shots from Doe Leather's new lookbook landed in my inbox. Oh. MyGod. A wistful, solitary walk looking out across the tousled Suffolk countryside, waiting to explore with an exquisitely handcrafted leather bag slung over one shoulder...I don't really need to explain why they've caught my attention. But I'm going to anyway.Social media has a wonderful way of bringing people together sometimes, my go-to community is on Instagram right now where I first met fellow Suffolk girl (always a conversation starter) and owner of Doe Leather, Deborah Thomas. Over the Easter break I found myself sitting at a table with her over coffee and pastries at Pump St Bakery - a last minute get-together whilst I visited my parents up in Suffolk. The room a cosy warm against the crisp cold of an Orford morning and with the shuck of the milk frother readying our lattés she told me her story of the Northamptonshire factory run by her family for three generations.She told me how, spanning almost a century, her grandfathers built up a strong heritage in the British leather industry, producing and embossing hides for export only for the factory to close its doors in 2002, pushed out by the cheap and fast imported leather from the toxic tanneries. Google it. As she showed me some old photos of the factory in its Art Deco glory days to a postcard of a now derelict, empty staircase inside, I could see the how much this meant to her and the childhood memories attached to it.Now, Deborah is working to rebuild that heritage with her own collection of bridle leather accessories, produced in the Black Country in one of the last remaining leather workshops where the leather is lovingly nourished and crafted into bags over a period of several months. And the details? Oh you'll love this - the designs for the zip pulls have been cut from the factory swatch archives and stitched carefully to give each bag a unique identity and a piece of that history.Ethically produced. British made. These are bags for life.

Photography © Julia Bostock 

Behind The Scenes Snapshots With HP & Intel

I'm often asked what's involved in working as a stylist and how I manage my schedule with two small children and the blog. Well...much of the time it's a game of spinning plates and sometimes I drop the ball (wait-that's a different analogy) and have to admit defeat - sometimes cleaning up smoothie or plant soil off the carpet trumps planning for my latest project!

I know some of you are really keen to see more behind the scenes type posts which I'm working towards gradually, but today I thought I'd take you with me on an exciting project I'm working on for September. I'll tell you more about it when I know it's safe to but for the moment I'll have to leave you guessing...however I will tell you that it involves our home. I've been working hard on getting some of the other rooms in the house finished in time for this which has been both exciting and terrifying, particularly the past week when I've been trying to balance entertaining my two over Easter and feeling the pressure of this deadline. Unless I'm assisting on location or have a focused day of work booked in with Rob who also works from home, I have to try to fit things in around the day to day stuff - morning naps, nursery pick-ups and running errands. In the evenings after the rotters have gone to bed I'll spend three hours or so emailing and blogging. Phew! Not exactly an ideal situation and despite having my phone to keep me in touch with things when I'm away from my desk, I'm still waiting to come home to the safety of guaranteed wireless before I catch up with myself. So, I teamed up with HP & Intel to see if I could better streamline my workload and find my happy work place outside the sanctuary of my beautiful little office to get stuff done. And how I love my office...

Having flexibility on the move is absolutely key for me, that's what's so clever about the HP Stream 7, a new kind of tablet with Intel Inside®. No longer tied to my laptop and stuck at home, this baby allows me to access email, my social media, set up an invoice and source props for a shoot at any time throughout the day. Since the Stream runs on Windows 8, a lot of the applications ask you to sign in with a Microsoft account. If you don’t have one (as I didn't) then it doesn't matter-it takes a few minutes to set up. Tip: You can use any existing email address to create a Microsoft account although the default option will encourage you to set up a new one (Hotmail, for example). Once signed in with this, I could easily add my cloud-based email account to the Mail application in Windows and customise the desktop with the apps I needed.

The 7" notebook is compact enough to carry around with the rest of your essentials but has a substantial enough screen to work on too - saves me from squinting over my phone. I'm your habitual paper and pencil type when it comes to keeping all my notes (often ending up scrunched up at the bottom of a bag) so when inspiration strikes I can open up OneNote and store my ideas and lists in one place-it also has the ability to voice record which saves me time if I don't have any hands free for typing. The super fast Intel Inside® processor puts my laptop to shame with fast loading speed too, so I can access all of my documents quickly from any device via cloud storage (which includes up to 1TB for a year). I've had to do a lot of last minute chasing in the past week so it's been brilliant to have this to hand when I need to be quick and now I've got the ability to shift seamlessly from my laptop and continue to work wherever I am with a wifi point. This weekend I escaped the kids for a quick trip to IKEA to research and make a few unnecessary purchases. And no. I absolutely did not buy any more plants. Really...

Let's not be forgetting that aside from all the desk based work of which there is plenty, there's a small percentage of creativity involved in the job too. Honest. I often find the best inspiration when I'm least expecting it, so being able to take snap shots on a larger screen to save for later is ideal - I took a couple of shots of the moodboard I've been working on with it to take with me as a reference which made life easier choosing what I needed.

All in all I'm pretty darn impressed with the HP Stream even though it's a new system for me. Thanks to HP & Intel for taking me out of my desktop bubble and making it work for me, wherever I am. Can't wait to share more of my news with you in the coming weeks!

This post is in collaboration with HP & Intel as part of their #WorkHappy campaign. Check out the hashtag and find your happy work place. 

Thank you to my sister Megan for taking over the camera on our propping trip!

How To Feel On Holiday At Home

Haven't we just been having some of the most beautiful weather lately? Well, if you're in the Northern hemisphere then spring is in full swing right now, the delicate blossoms are falling around us like sweet smelling confetti, the sun is warm on our backs and the light so very welcoming after many months of cocooning grey. I got to thinking about how much the change in season can feel like being on holiday, especially as we're in the middle of the Easter break and have been making the most of some time together. Finding the time (or indeed the budget) to get away can be tricky, particularly if like us you're self-employed and locked into several on-going projects for months on end. I'm not moaning, honest! So, instead I wanted to flip the idea of the holiday on it's head to inspire you to create that "on holiday" feeling at home with some simple tips...Turn Off The Technology | A purge from all the noise of social media feels like a holiday in itself. Set your automated email responses, turn off the TV and lock away your laptop and phone. You wouldn't take them with you everywhere on holiday would you? Ok, with the exception of your camera phone...Break From Routine & Create A New One | A simple change in routine can make all the difference to your mood, like making more of an occasion of breakfast with pastries, fresh coffee and the papers rather than forcing down a piece of toast whilst you get on with other things. Go for a walk each night after dinner and get some air, a real tonic for clearing your head and finding inspiration or end the day with a long wallow in the bath. Blissful.Be A Tourist In Your Own Town | Explore the places you've always wanted to visit that are close to home and see a different side to where you live. Maybe it's time to revisit some of the oldies after a few years?Dress For The Holiday | One of the best things about going away (at least in my opinion) is planning your wardrobe and dressing for the 'holiday you'. If you look good you feel good too, so make it your mission to style up and wear your capsule holiday wardrobe.Switch Up The Menu | Exploring different cuisines is all part of being on holiday - when in Rome, right? This weekend I whipped up a beautiful tapas style lunch with some beautiful Spanish cheese, paprika spiced pecans, crusty bread and all the necessary trimmings. Instant holiday feeling! Push your boundaries and try something new, pull out the cook books and cook up a storm...or order out if you'd rather.Make A Holiday Playlist | Find all the songs that put you in a ridiculously good mood and throw them onto a playlist. This one always gets me in the mood (showing my age now) and you can use your iTunes library, Spotify or Grooveshark to create yours.Make Room For Treats | When we're away we make it a rule to have at least three ice creams a day as standard, so don't forget to make room for treats. It might be buying a stash of magazines to devour in the evenings or that bottle of wine you've been saving for something special.Plan Something Every Day | Letting the day slip away is the worst feeling so make it a priority to plan something to do, however small. Dust off the bikes, visit a gallery or go out to dinner and have something to look forward to.So tell me, how do you get that holiday feeling at home? Feeling inspired to give it a try?* Thank you to Trujillos Villas España for transporting us to #Spain from home last weekend with an absolutely beautiful hamper for us to share and enjoy a little #holiday time together. 

TOAST + Botany Pop-Up Shop

I'm a firm believer in the less is more approach, an ethos that is synonymous with lifestyle brand TOAST. If you've ever had the all-consuming pleasure of pouring over their Lookbook you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, it's an ode to slow-living, absorbing your surroundings, finding meaning in the simple things like, for example, the joy of plants. Over the next few weeks, TOAST's Notting Hill store is hosting a botanist's dream of a pop-up shop, collaborating with Hackney based plant and homeware concept store Botany. I stopped by to check it out...Founded only last year by die-hard plant lover and former menswear product developer Andrea Maynard, Botany believes "that good, useful, ethical design and considered surroundings make for a beautiful and balanced life." I couldn't agree more and instantly made a beeline for the concrete planters (housing a variety of cacti) and copper watering cans - the accessories are as important as the plant as far as I'm concerned!Amongst the bounty of plants sat some beautiful examples of handcrafted homeware and organic skincare products including soaps and candles by Honest and tactile cork covered notebooks.I couldn't resist exploring the rest of the store, enjoying the feeling of space inside which had light streaming down through sky lights, bright white paint on rough brick walls and large planters of tall bamboo reaching upward. No surprise that I was so drawn to the softly glazed Eve tableware, hand thrown in Suffolk where I grew up. Always a sucker for good quality ceramics, I could see these sitting pretty on the table for Easter lunch.As part of the pop-up, TOAST is running a competition on Instagram for those who visit during its residency - take a snap of the pop-up and upload it with #TOASTANDBOTANY to win this basket full of succulents. Open until May 2nd...what are you waiting for?!

How To Survive An Identity Crisis And Own It

Have you been through an identity crisis? I'm not just talking about the full-on "who am I?!" meltdown, it could just be that you've lost what you thought was your signature style. Or perhaps for whatever reason your priorities have suddenly shifted but you can't put your finger on what works for you anymore. This is a subject I've been dealing with on and off for the best part of four years which, funnily enough coincided with when I became a mum for the first time. The first few months of constant feeding, nappies, all-nighters and establishing new routines as a family of three were enough of distraction, until the dust settled and I was quite suddenly faced with the stark reality of losing track of who I thought I was. I felt like an impostor in my own home. I couldn't wear the style I used to love anymore because my body shape had changed and clothes shopping became a nightmare of fitting room disappointments. It happened again when we moved two years ago and our new home was nothing at all like what we'd come from - none of the furniture worked in the new space which at the time was the antithesis of our ideal home and I struggled to feel like I belonged here. Then our daughter was born five months later and in the midst of all this, I left an established career as a wedding planner that I was comfortable in and knew well for one in editorial styling that I didn't know at all. It was back to square one all over again and as my work really does define who I am as a person, so I felt completely cast adrift. Are you still with me?If you're nodding frantically at the screen but still at a loss as to how to reconnect with yourself, here's how I worked my way out of it...

✚ Recognise It & Own It

Understand that this is just a transitional stage; it's not forever, so rather than wallowing under the duvet, choose to be proactive and accept it - it's happening so learn to use it as an opportunity to grow. Don't get me wrong, there were far too many days to count on both hands when I'd rather crawl under a rock than engage with myself or my family and I'd focus on everything I didn't like about myself, the house, my work-whatever. But that's counter-productive and actually really quite damaging. In the end, I had to learn to be honest with myself and my family and admit that I felt lost. Once I'd taken that first step, I could give myself over to it and buckle up for the ride.

✚ Explore

This is the best part! Allow yourself to experience something completely new and out of your comfort zone. In my case it was landing that first assisting job, swallowing those nerves and jumping with both feet into an unfamiliar situation, guts over fear. Just that one day opened up many more amazing opportunities which in turn exposed me to new people with very different styles from my own and suddenly I wasn't such a blank canvas anymore. When I've felt stuck in the past, I've used Pinterest to spark some inspiration and I have a beautiful blank wall in my workspace to moodboard any images I come across in print that catch my eye. Learn to be a little risky and buy those leather trousers. Put yourself out there in a different social scene or switch up your reading list. At this stage, it's not important to have a goal, just open up some creative conversation. You might discover a side of yourself you never knew existed.

✚ Take Your Time

It's a well known fact that I am the world's most impatient person. I want everything yesterday, so going through such a slow and tentative process as this was hard for me. So hard! You might find yourself grasping at things for a while to try and find a new sense of normality, to find where it is that this new version of you might belong but try not to focus on it too much. Over-thinking can be exhausting! Keep in mind that you'll always be a work in progress. I don't think anyone is truly ever 100% happy with themselves as there is always room to learn, grow and improve. It's quite fascinating to watch this as a visual, stylistic process unfolding on my Instagram, if you scroll back to the beginning and compare then with now. So much has changed! As a personal process this is going to take time and things won't change over night, so remember to go easy and take it slowly.

✚ Let Go

Don't hold on to things just because you loved them once. If it's not working for you now, then move on. This applies to the circles you socialise in as well as what you choose to surround yourself with at home. Do these people have a positive influence on you? Do they inspire or support you? Perhaps they hold you back or inhibit you in some way? Whilst it's not always possible to make clean breaks, you can be proactive in reaching out and making connections with a new set of friends. Blogging has been a wonderful way for me to nurture new friendships with people with a shared interest, just proving how important it is to explore even if it is from the comfort of your own home.I'm a lot less sentimental than I used to be and whilst there's certain possessions of mine that I will hang on to, I can be detached enough to get rid of it if it's standing in my way. You'd be shocked to see the amount of "stuff" I have cleaned out in the past few years on my quest for clarity, I've been single handedly keeping our local charity shops open for months! But trust me, you won't miss any of it once it's gone. Keeping mountains of clothes I used to look good in in the hope that they might still work a few years down the line was just counterproductive. So I eBayed all of my vintage dresses, donated my collection of T-Bars and put the proceeds towards some wall art for the house instead. There's something to be said for the "tidy home, tidy mind" way of life and we are firm believers. When you've got the head space to welcome in the new you'll find the whole transition so much easier.

✚ Find What Makes You Happy 

It took me a year to realise that my career was actually making me really unhappy and resentful. After six years of putting my all into running my business it hit me that I just wasn't invested in weddings anymore. I could plan a wedding with my eyes closed but I'd lost the love for it and would often bring home my frustrations. If I didn't care then I needed to get out of it before it started to affect my work. So I did and wow was it scary. Yet here I am, a few years down the line settled in a career that is absolutely right for me, because I changed as a person.It's ok to be selfish sometimes - I had to remind myself of that when we went away for 24 hours to celebrate our ten year anniversary (the first time we'd been away alone in years). The sky didn't cave in while we were gone and the kids barely noticed we'd left. So take yourself out for that coffee on your own and read that magazine you've been meaning to, sign up for the online course you've had bookmarked for ages. Find what makes you happy and the rest will take care of itself.So tell me - this is you right now? Or perhaps you've come out at the other side? Either way, I'd love to hear from you...

This Is Jane, My Mother

With Mother's Day fast approaching and as I'm trying to share a little more of "me" with you all, I wanted to tell you about my amazing mother, Jane. An inspirational teacher of some seventeen years, long distance runner in her mid-50s and with an impeccable sense of style, I'm proud of the journey she's taken since becoming a mother some (eh hem) 31 years ago...We were an interesting statistic. Not completely rare by the early 90s but certainly not common either. We ticked all the boxes required for an unusual family unit- the single parent mother to three mixed race children and living in a sleepy Suffolk town, boy did we stick out! We don't really look like siblings and we were most definitely a talking point amongst the locals for some time as they gossiped and debated our parentage - even now people still say to me "you don't look like your mum". How she managed to keep her cool I do not know; as if trying her hardest to raise us well on her own wasn't enough but we can laugh about some of those situations now, it was all a bit The League Of Gentlemen, if you know what I mean!She grew up a "latch key" kid, whereby my grandparents, both out at work or otherwise occupied would leave them all to their own devices (and there are some hilarious stories to be heard about that). They were an RAF family and moved about a lot. Mum didn't make a lot of friends as a child and got used to not settling for too long. Perhaps that's why, when she had us it was so important for her to create a permanent and secure home environment, particularly as a single parent. Mum helped to shape how important home is for my own family now. Home for us was a very small two-up/two down Victorian terrace. It wasn't anything like what my friend's grew up in but we loved it nevertheless. I shared a room with her until I was fourteen with my younger brother and sister in the other. We didn't have much, so she made the best of what she could. She made curtains, hung her own shelves, painted and wallpapered and still found time to knit us the odd jumper or sew a new dress for summer.Looking back over some of my old childhood photographs, I spotted plants in most of them, so I know where I got my love of urban jungles from! She is without doubt predominantly responsible for my deep love of interior style today, proving that a beautiful home can be made from a small budget. The art college graduate never completely left her in her creative endeavours to encourage us to explore and make. We were allowed to make a mess, build dens in the wood, spend all afternoon baking or whatever it was that had our attention at the time (I used to enjoy sucking lemons. No. Really). She taught us to laugh (mostly at each other) and not to take ourselves too seriously. She introduced us to Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald and Marvin Gaye and didn't mind when I chose to belt out The Prodigy through the house. If there was something we wanted to achieve, she encouraged us to go out and get it. I'm extremely thankful to her for putting so much of her life on hold to give us the best she could, especially now that I have children of my own and am lucky to have my career with the support of my husband, Rob.Mum has always had a  'feel the fear and do it anyway' kind of attitude towards life, even though I'm sure she'd play it down. She learned to drive in her late 30s, studied hard to become a primary school teacher and most recently ran the Brighton Half Marathon in just over 2 hours. Nothing short of brilliant and proof that it doesn't matter where you come from, you can do it when you set your mind to it.Thank you Mummy. X

In My Shoes / A Weekend In My mahabis

I live my life in slippers. They're waiting for me the second I step through the door, ready to warm my feet. You can hear me coming, shuffling across the carpet or the lino in the kitchen. It's a bad habit I know, I really should learn to pick up my feet. But for all my love of cosy footwear, I've always had one major gripe. Well, two, actually. When things get a little crazy here (which with two children is inevitable) and I need to nip out in the garden or stick the rubbish out I find myself wearing them to save time which eventually ruins the soles. And then there's the damp - I mean the sweaty damp that builds up because your feet warm up but the fabric doesn't breathe. It's gross but don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. So I go through a lot of pairs and quite frankly, I'm sick of it.All that changed when at the start of the year I discovered amazing new slipper brand mahabis on Twitter and stopped in my tracks. I instantly fell for the simple, clean lines and minimal aesthetic (finally - design led footwear for lounging!) but the real clincher was that they came with detachable soles so that you can continue to wear them outside. They were as they described "down time redefined". Needless to say, I wasted no time in contacting them to test drive a pair, find out about the brand and I loved them so much that I agreed to become an ambassador - frumpy slippers these ain't! So, in the theme of lounging in time for the weekend, here's what last week's rainy weekend looked like...Look! Here I am, outside. In my slippers. The detachable, Italian made tpu sole slips over and clips on in seconds and there's even a customisable element, whereby you can choose from a handful of coloured soles against a Larvik light grey felt slipper like mine or the darker grey. Inside you're cocooned in soft sheep's wool which moulds itself to your foot and over the course of the day I managed to run and drive with these, barely noticing I wasn't in my usual choice of boots. Amazing, right?I can't wait to see what's next for mahabis if this is how they introduce themselves. I'll stop waxing lyrical now and let you be the judge but I think I can finally stop the search for the perfect slipper, because I've found it.*In collaboration with affiliate partners Mahabis.

Photography & styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley & Megan Grant 

A Stylish Find / Appointed - Desktop Accessories

If my all-encompassing obsession with workspaces is anything to go by, you won't be surprised by my reaction to discovering new luxury desktop accessory brand Appointed. My eyes pretty much fell out of my head. A new enterprise by DC based graphic designer Suann Song of SIMPLESONG Design and already a year into the making, Appointed officially launched its Kickstarter campaign yesterday. As a huge fan of Suann and her team's work (you might recognise the beautiful stationery from this Sunday Suppers event) the new collection does not disappoint. Minimal in style and with a practical, beautiful and handmade ethos as its heart, this new line of work tools "makes utility look luxurious" and came into fruition after unsuccessful attempts to find well made, gender-neutral desktop products within the US. Aren't they utterly beautiful?At the centre of the collection is a notebook and workbook available in either plain or gridded perforated sheets, bound with brass coils with foil embossed cloth or textured stock covers. Shall I keep going? Also available are planners and calendars for 2016, brass rulers and memo pads which will be rolled out in time for the launch of their online store later this summer. For more details or to join me in pledging support to get this exquisite new line off the ground take a look at the Appointed Kickstarter page.

Photography © Kate Headley Photography

A Coastal Retreat / The Printworks Hastings

We ran away to Hastings for 24 hours on Sunday. Just the two of us, celebrating ten years together and leaving the kids in the capable hands of my mum and sister. Having spent numerous months trying to find time to get away, me being pernickety about the style of accommodation (it's an occupational hazard) and realising that Paris might just have to wait until next year, we settled on staying close by. Then I fell in love with an incredible space in Hastings just off the seafront. We spent Sunday to Monday indulging in copious amounts of rich food, luxuriating in deep baths and lounging in robes. Bliss...I make no apology for the following bombardment of photos-this place was insanely beautiful. I mean. Insane. Be prepared for this Grade II gem of a building with its stripped back interiors, industrial/eclectic style and wall-to-wall vintage furniture. Situated over two floors of the former offices of the St Leonards & Hastings Gazette, The Printworks is lovingly run by Lorna Lloyd, a ceramicist and photographer and her husband and film editor Bryan Dyke. At the bottom of the building, their son Ed runs homeware and pick 'n' mix lighting store Dyke & Dean and above that are artists studios. It's a place of real creativity and family endeavour.The B&B currently hosts two rooms at the top of the building-The Gutenburg which is a small double room with bathroom on a landing and The Caxton, a large suite with private bathroom which is where we stayed. The photos I'm sharing today are of the shared dining room which is the first floor you encounter when you arrive at the B&B. It's thought that this space was offices before it became a storage area for the newspaper. Aren't the exposed walls stunning? If only they could talk...Lorna has collected the majority of the furniture over the years, some from the numerous antique shops in Hastings Old Town, others have more of a story. The sofa was given by a friend who had it shipped back from New York but couldn't fit it into her home and the two banks of grey storage units came from Central Television and housed the Crossroads costumes. I can just about remember Crossroads! What we loved most about being here was feeling completely at home and free to explore.

Follow Our Steps In Hastings

Eat: For a laid back, buzzing atmosphere, try Dragon Bar. The food is great and plentiful. Oh and the Havana Mojitos are dangerous...Stay: The Printworks of course-where else?!Explore: Hastings Old Town for antique and curiosity shops-my favourite was Butlers Emporium. Take a wander on the seafront and find your way down to the Jerwood Gallery, the Net Huts, Cliff railway and the Fishermen's Museum.We had a really special time here together, just us on our own, no "mummy, I want..." or tantrums or rushing around. A little space and time to think always does the world of good and I couldn't think of a better place than here to do that, could you?

Pinch•Toys | Natural Toys For Stylish Kids

When we moved into our current home and our daughter joined our family, we made a conscious decision to curb the mountain of plastic toys that were taking over our living space. Of course, this isn't entirely realistic, given that children love nosy, brightly coloured gimmicky things and friends and family will inevitably gift them from time to time. Rather, we wanted to be a little more in control of the amount of plastic. They never last, do they? Thanks to the independent movement right now, there are some amazing designers producing handcrafted toys for design conscious parents that are most importantly fun and tactile for kids. Pinch•Toys are my most recent discovery-aren't they sweet?!Inspired by Nordic, minimal style, Pinch•Toys is run by two friends from Croatia who hand produce natural toys that are fun and aesthetically pleasing too. Like me, Maja was tired of plastic and was disappointed at the lack of well designed toys for kids, so during her maternity leave she began making a few pieces with her daughter (six) for the new baby. As she shared her creations on Instagram, she began to attract some attention and before long everyone wanted a Pinch•Toy accessory for their nursery (I've got my eye on the Dominos and Triangles!)"Inspired by kids and minimal, nordic design that I like so much, we decided to make a multipurpose toy. Something would improve cognitive skills but at the same time would fit perfectly into any space."The next logical step was to use child friendly materials such as wood, eco paint, cotton and felt in simple, bold pattern with a dash of pastel (Maja's favourite colour combination). Friend and sewing fanatic Sanja came onboard and as they shared a similar style they decided to create the Oscar and Wanda pillow fish. I love that Pinch has grown from friendship, love and the desire to create beautiful things. And gosh, they are beautiful.I will definitely keep these in mind when I start pulling ideas together for Tabitha's room later in the year! She's old enough for her own space now and, as the spare room is hardly used it makes sense that it becomes hers. So excited to get started!

Six Minimal Bags For The Every Day

 You can't go wrong with the clean, crisp style of a minimal bag and I love how accessorising one with an outfit can really enhance a look without fuss and frills. Choose traditional leather and suede for a classic, professional look, or dress it down with canvas and the new kid on the block, uashmama-a strong, washable paper like fabric. I've picked six of my absolute favourites to compliment your every day, be it work or play. Apparently I like to rhyme too.|1| The colour of the moment, soft pink is running it in the colour stakes and I can't get enough of it. Combine it with a traditional leather backpack and you've brought a whole new edge to laid back style. Take it to work and make them jealous. Verity backpack in nude, Whistles.|2| Yield-Design Co is a San Francisco based independent design house creating some of the most beautiful homewares and accessories I've ever seen come out of Etsy. Fact. Their 2015 edition Tokyo Tote in stone combines a duck canvas bucket bag with natural leather straps and I want it all.|3| I thought you might be wondering about this one, yet another genius invention by the Italians-is there nothing they can't put their hands to? Uashmama (pronounced "wash mama") is produced in Tuscany and is actually a paper fibre that is so strong it can be washed and still holds its shape. With its utility style canvas straps and rollable top, it's the ultimate in sustainable chic. You can get yours at The Future Kept.|4| Olive Cooper London bags are genius. Founder and designer Olivia Martyn realised that a one-size-fits all professional work bag just doesn't fly when you're heading out for drinks afterwards and came up with the two in one bag allowing you to up and downside with simple attachments. I'll take the Argyll in Nubuck, please.|5| A recent addition to my Great.ly store (check out the new Minimal Style collection) I picked out the Ashton backpack-tote as an ideal day out with the kids accessory. As I'm still in the midst of needing a nappy bag this is a much more stylish option, looks great in black canvas and I can wear it as a backpack or tote. I think Rob wouldn't even mind carrying this one. Win.|6| I love everything about Wealdhandmade's aesthetic-the geometric, origami inspired shapes to her clutches are a dream come true. Sarah designs and hand produces all her bags from her seaside home which are inspired by memories of school and given a very grown up, modern twist. Isn't Nellie so very beautiful?

Urban Jungle Bloggers / Coffee & Plants

My latest Urban Jungle Bloggers post is actually a week early for once (!) and this month it's all about coffee and plants. This little beauty has just moved into my office, but for the purpose of the post I'm photographing it downstairs in our dining space. It's a variety of Crassula (money plant) that I picked up from Ikea, the leaves grow like tubes until they unfurl, quite amazing to watch. The moment I found the terracotta pot that it sits in in my local florist, I'm pretty sure I almost swallowed my tongue. That delicate gold leaf detailing-oh my! I bought two on the spot and gave one to my mother, so now we both have one each in our homes. Anyway-coffee- Would you like to join us?Lunch is the best time of day in our house-we both work from home although I juggle mine around the children, so we all come together for something to eat and to talk about the day so far after Reuben comes back from nursery. Although it has it's ups and downs, this is definitely the best thing about being freelance-enjoying time with family at home when you choose. Especially when there's magazines to catch up on. If there's time then Rob will make us a "proper coffee" in the stove top percolator (I suck at it) and I think he really enjoy the ritual, so this time I thought I'd pop out to my local coffee bar and pick up a bag of Origin's Fazenda Mariano to try. So good.We enjoy a lot of light in this part of the house which makes it an ideal position for my monstera and rubber plants. They were "rescued" from supermarkets some six months ago and have grown from scrawny little weeds into absolute giants. I love them like my own children...well, near enough...Thanks for joining me today! I've put together a little coffee shopping guide for the weekend, you know, in case you want to get in on some too...

 Shopping Guide For The Caffeine Crazed!

|1| Aside from their eye pleasing, monochrome branding (I'm a sucker for good branding) I love Origin's coffee and enjoy a cup at my favourite coffee bar when I'm in town running errands. They're a small roastery based down in Cornwall and keep the environment at the forefront of their ethos. This box of Fazenda Das Almas offers a sweet silky cup with notes of buttery hazelnut. Yes please.|2| I have a slight problem with espresso cups. I own far too many but I don't actually drink espresso. That said, it doesn't mean they don't have other uses, like looking so incredibly beautiful stacked up on a shelf for me to look at or as a vessel for a sweet little posy of herbs on a windowsill. Serax always kill it with their ceramics. Always. Thanks for stocking these little bad boys, Studio NL!|3| Designers from my favourite Danish lifestyle brand Normann Copenhagen have just released an achingly gorgeous new collection of jugs and flasks under the name of Geo. This is minimal design at its best, with a matt finish on the outside and glossy inner its clean design would look right at home here on my table. Please.|4| Made in Finland from birchwood ply, I think the Kapu coffee scoop by HILE is possibly the most beautiful scoop of any kind that I've ever seen. It's not just a scoop either, that cheeky little notch down the middle lets you clamp your bag of coffee shut when you've finished to keep it extra fresh.|5| Ever mindful of the amount of waste that's created every time we (or I) buy a coffee (most of the cups can't be and aren't recycled) I'm considering keeping a Joco cup in my bag to give to the barista when I grab my next fix. It's reusable, comes with a heat protector and it's so very sexy in clear glass and black. Comes in other colours too but, hey, black is a style classic.|6| A minimalist design classic from the late 1970s, the Stelton vaccum jug is a prime example of function and form working together. With eleven colours to choose from, I had a hard time making my mind up, but settled on Milano Sand-if this colour can stand the test of time as a trench coat then it'll be an enduring classic from which to serve my coffee.

Photography & styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley

Style It / Leather Trousers Three Ways

You might be surprised to see a fashion post here today. Yep. I know. 2014 was somewhat thin on the ground when it came to lifestyle here on Curate & Display and 2015 is all about making up for that. In line with my mantra for the year 'Guts Over Fear', I'm kicking the week off in style, showing you three ways to wear a pair of leather look trousers. Recently (and somewhat nervously) I invested in a pair and, tired of my post-baby, playing-it-safe wardrobe I decided to start dressing the way I wanted to rather than how as a mother I thought I ought to. The last four years have been a daunting process of finding a new self and style, coinciding with having my children. I changed in every sense. I completely lost who I was for some time. I closed my business because it wasn't "me" anymore. I lived in the slouchiest, please-don't-notice-me clothes and I put that side of me away to focus on a new career. Now that the kids are nearly 18 months and 4 I feel absolutely ready to get something back for me. Eeesh. That was totally cheesy.Anyway, I digress. Back to the trousers. I love them! They look great with virtually everything and they're easy to wear. No idea why I was so worried about it! Shall we take a look..?

 'Love City' Graphic Tee / Mango | Woven Vagabond 'Kasai' trainers / Urban Outfitters

When I'm doing the day-to-day stuff I love to wear basics and can take a boring sports look and ramp it up a gear with an oversized graphic tee (an absolute must have) and a pair of black, textured trainers. It's a comfy but stylish look which is ideal for busy mornings juggling breakfasts, nappies and finding the shoes under the sofa.

Tie dye t-shirt / Zara | Cally Ankle Boots / Nine West

Black is just the best. Give me a black shirt and I'm a friend for life. I've chosen this one with tie dyed pattern as it's loose and drapes well, but still has a tailored feel to it. I can do up the top button or undo a couple depending on how I'm feeling and it's easy to move in when I'm working a shoot or heading out to a meeting. I live in boots with chunky heels, I'd wear them all year round if I could! They give an added feeling of height but without breaking my ankles. If you can't run in them, don't wear them.

Monochrome Shirt Dress / River Island | Razz Chelsea Ankle Boots / ASOS

For this casual date-night look I've paired the trousers with a sleeveless monochrome shirt dress. I'm not one for tiny skirts and skyscraper heels anymore and I prefer to wear simple pieces of jewellery than the bling I used to enjoy in my teens, so this outfit works well. Again, I've chosen a trusty pair of boots but this time with a white sole and heel to make more of a statement. Although it's still quite low key, by wearing it with a smoky eye and nude lippy it adds a little drama.So there we have it-three ways to style a pair of leather look trousers. I hope they've given you some inspiration if you're thinking of adding a pair to your wardrobe.What do you think of my choices? 

A Stylish Find / The Deaf Cat Coffee Bar, Rochester

Today's 'A Stylish Find' isn't a new one for me at all, but if you're new to my home town of Rochester and fancy exploring, then this is for you. Our beautifully preserved, historic high street made famous predominantly by Charles Dickens is not short of places to kick back with a coffee, but The Deaf Cat is the place I choose to spend my time in.Opened five years ago by former graphic designer Kevan Middleton, The Deaf Cat (so named after Charles Dickens's favourite pet) sits boldly inside a Grade II listed building which was once a home. With a red brick and matt black facade, worn original floorboards and tonal greys on the walls, it sets itself apart from the twee tea rooms from the off. As a functioning gallery, The Deaf Cat supports local artists who can display and sell their work. The art changes on a regular basis - including the wall murals, there's always something new to look at. You might even spot local artist Billy Chyldish who regularly pops down on his scooter. I really ought to say hello sometime...When I have a rare moment on my own or even with the kids in tow, it's a home from home. A newbie to the wonderful realms of coffee drinking (I had a caffeine intolerance for the best part of thirteen years) I cut my teeth in here. I love the atmosphere; from the heady aroma of roasted coffee beans and frothy hot milk, to the indie/alternative music, there's always a good energy which is why it's so popular within the creative community. Oh and Reuben says "he loves the cookies and orange juice"-his favourites.The mix of industrial and retro works so well in this space, from the well worn Chesterfield sofa and cosy seating, vintage church chairs and pendant lamps, it's unpretentiously, effortlessly stylish. With the recent opening of a branch of Costa's just a few doors down there was quite understandably a lot of unease about the effect it would have on the established cafes, but loyal customers (me included) keep coming back to show their support.Of course, it wouldn't be the place it is without the quality of the coffee and a group of very welcoming baristas who know how to make the perfect cup. The bean of choice here is Origin, a small company in Cornwall using their own environmentally friendly coffee roaster. Coffee with a conscience. Their branding is pretty sexy too. Obviously.If nothing else entices you to Rochester I hope this will. I'm planning an Instagram tour later on this spring and we will most definitely be making a pit-stop here for a break from snapping. Would you like to join me? Watch this space for news.Thanks again to manager Matt and owner Kevan for letting me hang out and shoot for a couple of hours. See you soon!

Guts Over Fear / Resolutions & Goals In 2015

Resolutions. Do you bother making them? I can't remember the last time I stuck to any-they're loaded with hidden pressure and that feeling of letting yourself down when you break them just isn't worth that massive tub of ice cream you eat to make yourself feel better. I'm not talking from personal experience...of course... so I prefer to keep a word or phrase in mind for the year. My buzz word in 2014 was 'grow' and it turned out to be a year of learning and progression, just small scale things but they made a huge difference. By nature I'm not a fan of the baby step approach-I prefer to run before I can walk and I'm not the most patient of people, but the past year has taught me to slow down and appreciate taking small steps to achieve the bigger picture. Just what exactly that is as yet is still unclear, but I'm happy to relinquish some of the control and see where things take me.

I started writing Curate & Display in February-my 3rd blog since I started in 2007 and in the ten months I've been writing its brought about some incredible opportunities, new friendships, new clients and given me confidence to get back into working as a stylist again now that my children are that little bit less dependent on me. The house is slowly coming together bit by bit and even though it's not ours, it feels very much like home and I relish the challenge of giving the remaining rooms a refresh.

So what's my phrase for 2015? Guts over fear. It's punchy, to the point and it means business. It's ridiculous when you consider all the opportunities you let pass by listening to those quiet whispers telling you not to-don't you agreed? I've let the doubt take over on more than one occasion, whether it's the quality of my work, stepping outside of my comfort zone with my wardrobe or deciding whether or not to approach someone I admire to collaborate with. Not any more. This year is about having the confidence to make things happen. Stand up and be counted. I just hope I can still look you in the eye and say I stuck with it at the end of the year!

Pep talk over! I'd love to hear your thoughts on resolutions. Do you have plans for the coming year or are you rolling with it?

Photography & styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley

Spiced Hot Chocolate & Those Copper Mugs

I'm not one for posting recipes here, as a rule I leave that to the foodies and food stylists among us, but today I'm making an exception because, well, I have these beautiful new copper mugs and they were crying out for their own mini-shoot! Yes, I'm still head-over heels for copper and can't wait to put these beauties to good use imagining the variation of flowers I can style them up with-who says a mug can't be a vase?Anyway, with Christmas over and New Year looming, I had planned to write a gorgeously moreish cocktail based on Horchata and using Amaretto as the base, but as with some creative journeys, this one decided that it wasn't right. As I was about to throw the towel in I remembered a recipe for a spiced hot chocolate that I threw together a few years ago and how in the midst of the seasonal chaos I'd forgotten to make any thus far. This recipe is fast becoming a tradition in our house at this time of year, along with the Italian ricciarelli biscuits which are possibly the most incredible biscuits you will ever taste. Check out Twelve by Tessa Kiros for the full recipe and please, please do.This is a recipe for the sweet toothed chocolate lover, for moments when only an intense chocolate hit will do. It's a rich, thick hot chocolate with a comforting base of warm winter spices and made with dark chocolate with 85% cocoa solids so it's not sickly sweet but you won't be wanting more than one cup at a time. Share with friends and savour it.Serves 4 generouslyIngredients1000ml whole milk200g 85% dark chocolate (I use Green & Black's)100g light brown sugar1 vanilla pod sliced down the middle1 stick of cinnamon3 clovesA good grating of nutmeg (to taste)A pinch of saltA pinch of dried chilli flakesMethod✚ Add the milk, sugar and spices to a pan and simmer on a gentle heat for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Taste to check that the flavour of the spices has come through (continue for a further five to ten if you'd like it stronger).✚ Strain the milk through a sieve to remove the spices and return to the pan on a medium heat.✚ Break the chocolate into chunks, add it to the warm milk and stir gently with a whisk until the chocolate has completely melted and the mixture has thickened.✚ Ladle into a mug, beaker or bucket, snuggle under a blanket and enjoy.A very happy New Year to you! Thank you for following, reading, commenting, liking-whatever, 2014 was a pretty amazing first year for Curate & Display blog and I can't wait to see what's around the corner in 2015. Thanks for listening and see you on the other side! xThis post is in collaboration with Mia Fleur who kindly sent the two copper mugs as a gift.  Photography & styling © Tiffany Grant-Riley

Style It / Soft & Romantic Winter Decor

Yikes - just three more sleeps until Christmas Day - are you just about ready? I find it really funny that even though I'd got myself into gear enough with the decor to come up with this DIY garland, nothing else was even close to getting done. Occupational hazard maybe? Needless to say, we pulled our collective fingers out over the weekend and got through a mountain of 'to-dos'. Yep. We owned it. Food, gifts, the lot. Phew.I've been thinking about creating more 'how to style' posts recently. Day to day I don't really think about how I style my work as I just do it, but there are a few guidelines that are worth remembering - would you like me to write more for you?Just for fun, today I'm sharing how to put this look together. Don't panic if you feel that there isn't time now, this isn't just a Christmas look as you can change up the colours throughout the year. You can recreate the look with or without the garland using a shelf, sideboard or even as a table runner (imagine that dressing a table for a New Year's Eve dinner!) I digress...You Will NeedPaper honeycomb balls in a variety of sizes - I chose white, ivory, grey and soft pinkCut glass vases - you can pick these up in a charity shop for peanuts and come in handy for all sorts of projectsHyacinth bulbs or similarSoft pink tall candlesSmall glass votives lined with copper tape✚ Start with arranging the honeycomb balls. You'll need to layer them up slightly if you've enough depth to work with, so that you have some of the middling and smaller sizes towards the front, larger to the back. Cluster them a little so they're not uniform.✚ Introduce your candles. I put mine into a variety of cut glass vases as the glass will pick up the light from the candles and kick out an added glow onto your wall - just beautiful. Play around with height, for example if there's an obvious space that needs something tall and there's a vase that fits, use it. Same applies if there's a shorter vase and a gap at the front. Step back, tweak, step back and tweak some more.✚ Next up, add in your bulbs. I've displayed mine in a mixture of short glass vases and a tumbler for variation in height. See how I've arranged the short one towards the front and the taller further to the back?✚ Add a little interest. I wasn't happy with that little pink ball on it's own at the front, so I put it on top of a little pressed glass cake stand and added in another pink ball to the right. Also towards the back you might spot a glass decanter with silver cuff that I thought would do well to reflect the candlelight.✚ Finally, I placed at the front three small tea light votives that I'd covered with a strip of copper tape each. I liked the way they picked out the soft pink in the candles and garland.Here's a few top tips worth remembering:Odd numbers look better. It's difficult to explain why, but they do - 3 candles, 3 vases, 3 tea lights • Layer up, don't just put things side by side, try in front, behind or stacked on top • Introduce height but allow each object to relate to each other (so nothing too tall that disconnects from the others) • Work with triangles. It sounds odd but objects look more pleasing to the eye when they relate to each other via a triangle. I've used the candles to instigate this and pulled the eye across to the paper balls and down to the votives. See?I hope you found this useful enough to inspire your own styling at home? It was fun to pull an image apart step-by-step and analyse it for a change!I'm signing off for the Christmas holidays now but will be back soon with a rich and gorgeous recipe for hot chocolate before the year is out. Have a wonderful time! x

DIY It / Avocado Dyed Fabric Garland

Ever since I saw this image from Vtwonen doing the rounds on Pinterest I've been desperate to recreate that garland in my home. Sure, I'm lacking the Georgian proportions and beautifully weathered wall, but you work with what you've got, right?Then I found a beautifully dyed blush cotton fabric (yep-on Pinterest again!) which was done using avocado pits and I just had to give it a try. I love the magic results that can come from dyeing with natural ingredients and have tried turmeric with wool before with some success. But who knew avocados could be responsible for that colour?! So out came my scraps of natural cotton and white canvas, 3 avocado pits and the biggest pan I could find. Eight hours later, I had 3 metres of the most gorgeous, subtle pink to work with and I turned it into this fabric garland to dress our dining space over Christmas. "Lahd a mercy!"If you'd like to experiment with other natural colours, my Dyes & Pigments board is full of ideas to inspire. Now let's get to it...You Will Need -3 metres of untreated or white cotton and/or canvas. Note that man made fibres don't take dye very well. If you want a longer garland, just dye more fabric.3 whole avocado pits - This was perfect for the amount of fabric I had and if you add more the colour will be more intense.4 metres of thin rope - I used a silky kind from a haberdashery and you'll need an extra metre on top of your desired length to allow you to tie it.Make sure your fabric is clean before you dye. I washed mine without detergent on a rinse cycle and put it straight in.✚ Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add your clean avocado pits to it. Leave them to boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer with the lid on for an hour or until the water has reached the shade of pink you're happy with.✚ Remove the avocado pits, turn off the water and carefully submerge your fabric replacing the lid. Leave it for a good eight hours to steep.✚ When you're quite positively beaming with happiness at that soft pink (and only then) take out the fabric, rinse off the excess dye and hang it out to dry.✚ When the fabric is completely dry, roughly iron it out. You'll want to keep that rumpled effect but will need it straightened out a little.✚ Making a snip into the fabric as you go, tear it into rough 2-3cm wide strips. Canvas won't rip so scissors will do. They want to be around 57cm long.✚ Double up each strip, loop the fabric over the rope and pull the two lengths through, pulling tight. Continue until all your strips are tied.✚ Hang your garland and trim any strips that are too long, although you want it to look quite natural.Quick Note: I didn't use a mordant or fixer in this dye as I won't be washing it, but there are recipes available that can advise on this.Are you as crazy in love with this as I am? I mean...yyeeeeeah!! If you're still stuck for festive decor ideas, check back on Monday and I'll show you how to style up a sideboard or shelf as I did in this 'after' shot.Happy weekend!