Harry Styles might tell us that we’re GOLDEN… and you know what, we really are. And if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that the small things are what count the most. A small gift for someone you love, delivered in the post is perfect for when you can’t be there in person. Postal gifts have never been more essential for spreading a little love, joy and post-Christmas sparkle. That small token of love, whether for a birthday, anniversary or ‘just because’ will certainly make the grateful recipient smile from ear to ear, heck tears may also be shed! And hey, even treating yourself now and again is a righteous passage of lockdown, no?
I’ve mostly always worn gold jewellery. I love vintage and antique-inspired pieces and I’ve taken to investing in ‘proper’ jewellery over the last few years. There’s only so many green-fingers one can get away with! Well, the magpie in me is head over heels for this glorious Sunburst Signet Ring by Daisy LONDON. Because we all need a little bit of sunburst-shine after this last year! This magnificent Sunburst Signet Ring is an actual piece of me – made in collaboration with @esteelalonde – it is as bold as it is delicate This iconic collab with Estée Lalonde boasts a timeless collection of layering pieces that lift and inspire; effortless, everyday jewellery that you not want to take off. And since I received this Signet Ring, I’ve definitely not had it off! And thats not all, Daisy is a brand that is ethical and eco-conscious; with jewellery that is designed with love and made to last.
Golden jewellery never goes out of style – it’s classic, brightens and illuminates the complexion. It’s golden hue compliments most skin tones, meaning there’s something to everyone. And let’s be honest, when it comes to gold rings, one is never enough!
As I mentioned, I’m a bit of a magpie, so here is my edit of favourite golden pieces that are available online! And as there are limits to how much we can all spend right now, I’ve managed to keep this edit at UNDER £100.
Let me know what your favourite gold pieces are from my edit. Or which pieces you’d like me to feature next time! Comment on this post or reply to the post on Instagram: @claire_briston.
C
For clarity, I was kindly #gifted the Sunburst Signet Ring by DAISY LONDON Jewellery. For ASA purposes this is highlighted and marked as AD – PR Product Sample for total transparency.
This is not a sponsored or paid post; though this post may contain affiliate links that earn me a teeny, tiny commission. But be safe in the knowledge that I only shout about items that I genuinely believe in.
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MORE ABOUT // Estée Lalonde For Daisy LONDON JEWELLERY
Daisy has collaborated with Estée Lalonde on two jewellery collections, both full of the kind of jewellery you won’t ever want to take off, crafted in sterling silver and 18ct gold plate.
The Goddess collection consists of effortless, everyday jewellery inspired by modern goddesses, the power of feminine energy, and the notion that we are all perfectly imperfect. Lunar goddess symbols are complemented by organic textures and a variety of chain styles to layer together. A Goddess medallion as a talisman for inner strength. A changing moon symbol as a reminder that this too shall pass. A poured gold texture to symbolise imperfect beauty.
The original collection is the kind of jewellery you won’t want to take off. Estée fused her love for classic vintage jewellery and contemporary design to create a collection that is perfect for everyday, effortless accessorising. Consisting of both statement and dainty pieces, the jewellery in the original collection is inspired by the 1970s. From gold shield rings to classic t bar drop necklaces; the collection has a nod to decades gone by, but with a modern-day touch.
Choose Love has raised millions to support refugees and created a movement of people putting love into action around the world.
Choose Love does whatever it takes to provide refugees and displaced people with everything from lifesaving search and rescue boats to food and legal advice. Choose Love elevates the voices and visibility of refugees and galvanise public support for agile community organisations providing vital support to refugees along migration routes globally.
Choose Love are a lean, passionate team driving a fast-paced global movement across 15 countries. In just five years, they have reached one million refugees and raised tens of millions for nearly 150 organisations providing vital support at every stage along migration routes from Europe to the Middle East and along the US-Mexico border.
There is just one vision – a world that chooses love and justice every day, for everyone.
CHOOSE LOVE // THE STORE
The Choose Love store sells real products for refugees. Items you choose will be delivered to the people facing winter in the most difficult conditions. This is the world’s first shop to sell real products for refugees and displaced communities.
Every item represents a similar product or service provided by one of the organisations that Choose Love support around the world. When you buy an item at Choose Love, they get it to where it’s needed most.
Over the last five years this pioneering model has provided refugees and displaced communities with the tools to rebuild their lives.
Support is completely essential. Why not gift someone a donation to Choose Love this Christmas, instead of buying that silly Secret Santa that you know will end up in landfill? A ‘secret santa’ gift starts at just £5 and a is a true gift with heart.
You could always buy yourself or a loved one a gift too and it will STILL benefit those who need it the most. Here is a selection of my favourite Choose Love merch.
Or if you’d prefer to donate a specific amount, head to DONATE >>> HERE.
If you’re not able to contribute via monetary means, please do follow @ChooseLoveacross all of their social platforms and share their amazing work. Every little bit really does help. Thank you.
C
Choose Love is a restricted fund under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund, UK Charity No 1099682. In the USA, Choose Love, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, and gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
EVENT: LONDON MOTHERS CLUB x BLOOMON WORKSHOP EVENT DETAILS: FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP, BUBBLES & NIBBLES VENUE: PAPER MILL STUDIOS, LONDON WHEN: 15TH NOVEMBER’17 – 7:30pm – 10pm
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After recently receiving a lot of beautiful and really thoughtful flowers, I toyed with the idea of going on a Floristry course of some description. I found potting them into numerous vases and caring for them really therapeutic. I felt real joy in tending to them and having the vases scattered around the house was a constant reminder of peoples’ support.
Then, as if by actual magic, @londonmothersclub and @bloomonuk teamed up for a mega floristry evening fuelled by Prosecco & Donuts & (fizzy) Prosecco CRISPS 🌷🍾🍩 I couldn’t respond to the invite quick enough!
Upon arrival at Paper Mill Studio’s (not far from where we used to live in North London!), I was offered a lovely cold glass of the good stuff. The workshop was then promptly introduced by Kerrie-Anne.
Our Bloomon expert florist then took us through the individual flowers she had selected for her arrangement – talking through the process of selecting your blooms and how to arrange them.
It was then time for us to give the arranging a go for ourselves.
We were each given the same bunch of flowers to arrange, using our new knowledge – and the Prosecco & Prescco CRISPS kept us going too!
So what important tips & tricks did I learn for arranging my flowers?*
WATER // Crystal clear water is key. When you first fill your vase, use the little packet of flower food to nourish your plants. After a 2-3 days, refresh the water. Add a little drop of bleach (YES BLEACH!) to keep bacteria at bay. Less germs = longer lasting blooms. Also, don’t worry about filling your vase to the top with water, they don’t need a FULL vase.
FLAT LAY // Lay all of your stems out. Look at the bud ratio’s and heights before arranging.
PRUNE // Re-cut your stems. Often the bottom of stems have a hard time absorbing water. A fresh cut – at a nice angle, like the bottom of a drinking straw – will do just the trick. The angle increases the surface area for better absorption. Also, make sure no leaves fall below the water line as they will decompose.
REINCARNATION // Keep your longer lasting blooms fresh by taking out stems past revival and removing over-wilted buds. ‘Deadheading’ channels energy into the blooming flowers, meaning healthier flowers that continue to bloom.
HOME SWEET HOME // Blooms can be picky. Make sure they feel right at home in your home by placing them away from drafts, direct sunlight, radiators and fruit.
Your bouquet will look beautiful for upward of 10 days. But, there will come a time when only the very strongest, longest lasting flowers remain. Too few to remain in the vase. Too many to waste. Now is the time to get creative with mini vases!
I also managed to dry a few of the steams in some single bud vases from this bouquet above – and from the one I was additionally gifted (read on). The berries, especially, were great over Christmas and worked really well with a vase of greenery!
So with the end of the workshop we were given our personally-arranged blooms all wrapped up nicely, ready to be plonked straight into our huge (and pretty stunning!) vases that we were also kindly gifted.
As usual, it was brilliant to be surrounded by a group of such wonderful women – whilst doing something I’m getting really quite passionate about! I learned how to arrange and some excellent tips for longevity AND I met some new (and familiar!) faces along the way. So much fun. I now REALLY want to be a florist! 👌🏻❤️✨
ARRANGING AT HOME
Thank you so much for organising K-A! 😘
As an icebreaker we talked about which flowers we like best. I love a vintage peach rose, it holds a real sentimental value for me. I’ll also definitely be adding a lot more foliage to my arrangements from now on too – the greenery really offset’s the colour in the buds (also great for filling gaps!)
So, what’s your favourite flower?
C
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NB: I was gifted the flowers that I arranged during the workshop; plus an additional bouquet, as well as the large vase, floristry scissors and towel. I did not receive payment for this review. All views in this post are my own and are 100% honest.
Bloomon was founded in 2014 when three rebels – a flower fan, a supply whiz, and a number-cruncher – got together to turn the flower industry on its head. From a dining room table in Amsterdam, we’re now bringing our beautiful bouquets to homes in five countries. World, here we come!
What we love
We love to test. We love to learn. We love to optimise. Beers on Friday evening. Table tennis after lunch. Random air hockey tournaments. We love creativity. Open minds. Free spirits. Smart kids. Cool kids. We love open windows. Too much coffee. Polaroids. Oh, and our rooftop terrace is pretty much like family.
What we stand for
We make art and science come together. In fact, we’re all about acting on a greater plan. Think big, win big. We seek challenge. Even if we don’t score on our first try, we do it better every day. And we always look on the bright side – no matter what.
What we want
Simply put: We want to spread happiness. And we want to do it together. Diversity is our strength. There is no push without pull. No spark without friction. No yin without yang. At the end of the day, we’re all running in the same direction to make our customers and colleagues smile every day.
Helping parents be responsibly irresponsible since 2013. The Real Family Rave. Award winning, critically acclaimed, internationally acclaimed. Created by parents who love clubbing, for parents who love clubbing. Dance/Create/Play – see you on the dance floor!
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I had been following Big Fish, Little Fish Events on Instagram for a long while and sadly, every time an event came to London town, the date would clash with other plans… or as it happened, we ended up moving to Berlin! If you don’t already know, Big Fish Little Fish “are an independent, grassroots music and events crew that put on family raves with all the freedom and excitement of a mini-festival, right in the heart of cities and towns across the UK”.
So when we moved back, I was desperate to take Eli off to the Family Rave. Fast forward almost a year, and the same things happened – clash of dates. Then finally, FINALLY the 23rd April event came up! At first we thought we wouldn’t be able to attend because Greater Anglia are messing about with the tracks EVERY single weekend for the next few months – which means some weekends, a 3 hour journey into London (which would normally take 35 mins btw). We checked out the trains and realised it was the weekend of the London Marathon – which meant the trains were RUNNING – with no replacement buses, no random journeys. Just direct! BOOM.
Natasha from BFLF got in touch with me and mentioned the theme was ‘Popstars & Rockstars’, as part of the Camp Bestival 2017 tour. Many are now aware, Eli is obsessed with his Starman. So for him, it was a no brainer. He was going as Ziggy. He wanted the red hair and the lightning bolt face. He wanted to complete the rest of his outfit himself, of course. Natasha also mentioned a potential venue change, due to the recent happenings at the Hackney club. I imagine this was quite a stressful week between the event for the BFLFteam, through horrendous circumstances. But as it happened, they managed to be able to continue with the same venue – and what a venue to boot!
TheWringer + Manglewas really easy for us to get to. A short journey on the Overground took us to London Fields station, where it was then a 2 minute walk to the venue. Eli was clarted out in full Ziggy regalia – and loving all the comments along the route!
Upon arrival at the location, we saw the queue leading down to The Mangle. We were advised by both Natasha and Hannah that there may be a delay for entry as all bags were searched. Rightly so. The airport style security was very thorough, which is great and welcomed by all. Safety first. I was asked to try the water we had in our bag – as well as test my trusty Lipcote. We then went into the depths of the venue. It was dark, there was neon, there was a craft table (Captain Cookie Crafts), cakes and bar for the adults. PERFECT.
These events are aimed at families with young children (birth – around 8 years old) – though we definitely did see folk of all ages there!
Facepainters PHACE by Philly, were also on hand, transforming the faces of both Adults (£7) and Children (£5). Had I not already painted Eli’s face myself, I can guarantee he would have had his face decorated – we loved the designs we saw!
Top DJ’s playing club classics (DJ Food, The Orb, Tom Middleton, Terry Farley, Hatcha, Mixmaster Morris, James Tec and Nihal have all played – check individual events for details)
Fancy dress themes.
Bubble Machines, club visuals, giant balloons, glitter cannons and parachute dance finale.
Captain Cookie craft area with themed crafts, giant colouring mural, play-doh table.
Licensed Bar.
Home Made Cake Stall and savouries.
Face painting stall.
Play area with tents, tunnels and inflatables.
Villa Pia Babies-only chill out safe space with soft mats, beanbags and ball-pool.
Parachute Dance – something that the Kid’s and Adults all love, of course.
Entry into the event also includes free glowstick and transfers. Eli chose a Skull & Cross bones tattoo, obviously.
As this event was in conjunction with Camp Bestival 2017 On Tour, there was the opportunity to pose against the photobooth backdrop (Eli needed zero coaxing). Photos shared and tagged with #CB17ontour and #BFLF would be entered into a competition to win one of 3 Family Guest Passes for Camp Bestival 2017 itself! (Fingers firmly crossed!)
All BFLF events are based on the concept – 2 to 4 Hour Party People (ha), so by 4:30pm the event was drawing to a close. The glitter cannon finale was epic and Eli proceeded to swim/create snow angels in the remnants.
We had the best afternoon! I cannot recommend these events highly enough. The music isn’t too loud (for newborns, you might want to bring a set of ear defenders – but the volume was more than acceptable for toddlers). Everything was incredibly well managed, organised and maintained by Hannah, Natashaand their team. The most brilliant amount fun for a few hours – the 3 of us had a good old dance, with Eli getting the ‘big fish, little fish, cardboard box’ dance suspiciously easily…
As parents, with no local support, we don’t get out often. AT ALL. So this was a fantastic way of reliving a little bit of youth and letting our hair down – with Eli absolutely loving every second too!
Just to also highlight, you will need to take cash for additional extra’s once inside (for Face-painting and the cake stall etc), though at this venue, the bar did accept cards. We had 2 cans of beer from the bar (which does alleviate a lot of spillages I imagine!), but the cans were on the expensive side. So do bare that in mind too. We don’t get out often, so this was fine for us. Adults are not admitted unless accompanied by a child and there is a max of 3 children per adult. This made us feel very safe in a new and very dark environment. Pre-Walking infants do need a ticket, though this is free! (Bonus for new parents!). These events have limited seating (just dance!), club lighting rigs (no strobes) are used and events are busy with around 500 people at each party – which helps create the rave ambience. Each event is stewarded and risk assessed in advance – we saw lots of stewards in high-vis, so you couldn’t miss them! Buggies must be left in buggy park and are not be allowed on the dance floor.
We can’t wait to join the next event! If BFLF visits a city near you, don’t miss it. Travel to one if you can. I urge you. You won’t be disappointed!
C
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Special thanks to Natasha for inviting us along to this event. This is in no way a sponsored review. All opinions my own. Some quotes and details taken from www.bigfishlittlefishevents.co.uk
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THE STORY
Drawing on our experience as seasoned clubbers and parents the BFLF crew create anarchic, social, daft fun for all ages. Inspired by Hannah’s (the founder) lifelong love of clubbing and her babies’ enjoyment of festivals. BFLF is something we want to take our own families to – somewhere relaxed, entertaining, and where the adults enjoy themselves as much as the children and vice versa with grandparents, uncles, aunts and carers all in the mix. Raving always came from the heart, a way to express a love of music and dancing with your friends. BFLF extends that across the generations so you can rave with your family too. It’s a celebration of life, love and music.
We work hard to make sure each event is unique – different DJs, creative themes and guest artists running everything from hula-hoop demonstrations to synthesiser workshops to interactive light installations.
Our parties are held in interesting and quirky venues; clubs, arts spaces and pubs, which help create the ambience of being at a real rave.
Started in Brixton, summer 2013 BFLF now runs on weekend afternoons across the UK, and also works with other festivals and organisations (Glastonbury Festival, Camp Bestival, South Bank Centre, Edinburgh Festival, Beautiful Days, Coventry Mysteries, Kendal Calling, National Gallery, Stratford Circus, The Museum of London, London LGBT Pride, Out With The Family, Winterville, Mini VAULT, Farnham Maltings, Dreamland Margate and the London Electronic Arts Festival).
Regular events are now held all over the country including: Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, Birmingham,Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester and Manchester and many more.
I recently came to the conclusion that I have a new wardrobe void. I’m “missing” a small-medium sized, smart/casual black shoulder bag (with gold hardware). Having lost my phone, not once, but twice (and miraculously TWICE it was handed in by kind folk!) from my Chanel 2.55, I have decided I need a bag that will effectively contain my wares.
I’ve trawled through my favourites and here is my Edit of The Black Shoulder Bag – perfect for shopping to dinner to dancing, and back round the shops again.
I definitely have my eyes firmly fixed on the classic Céline Trio and the A.P.C Half Moon bag; with the A.P.C delight hitting the top of my #MoMWishlist! Which are your favourite(s)?
London jewellery designer, Sheherazade Goldsmith, wearing Bella Freud at home: Credit The Telegraph.
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I first saw this jumper around 2 years ago. It was being adorned by the likes of Kate and Alexa; and like my favourite fashion-people I’d also lusted after the monochrome version of the now infamous 1970 slogan jumper. Much to my family and mates’ disgustconfusion dislike, we’re big fans of the 1970’s. Fans of the fashion, music and most predominantly, the design and (Mid Century) interiors of the era. So this jumper struck more than *just* sartorial chord with me. But then I saw a Telegraph article on (aptly named) jewellery designer Sheherazade Goldsmith, and she was wearing a red version of my favourite woollen piece. Be still my beating heart…
So from then, I lusted for the red colourway. The super-soft Merino Wool. The cut and design. The design itself takes its signature motif from a book clipping that Freud used to wear pinned onto a plain jumper.
I do have splashes of colour in my mostly-black wardrobe and I would tend to go for red or green, unless its a vintage or leopard print (or red or green variations of leopard print!) of course.
So the red 1970 Jumper by the lovely Bella Freud is firmly on my NEED list. More or less at the top.
Freud was born in London, England. She is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and artist Lucian Freud and great granddaughter of the inventor of psychoanalysisSigmund Freud.
She is renowned for her signature jumpers Je t’aime Jane, Ginsberg is God and 1970. Fans of Bella Freud include Alexa Chung, Laura Bailey, Kate Moss and Alison Mosshart.
Bella launched her eponymous label in 1990. Her first collection featured sexy knitted dresses in bookish colours, mini tailored suits and a small selection of shoes and bags. Bella went on to win Most Innovative Designer at the London Fashion Awards in 1991 and produced a Super 8 short film ‘Day at the Races’ as an alternative to a fashion show. Bella’s second film ‘More Clothes’ directed by Kate Garner was shot on 35mm film and showcased the SS 1992 collection.
Seasonal catwalk shows followed, then in 1999 Bella began her fashion film collaboration with John Malkovich, co writing and producing three short films: Strap Hanging, Lady Behave, and Hideous Man. In 2001 Bella also collaborated with rock icon Anita Pallenberg on Memo, a limited edition magazine featuring the AW2000 collection, inspired by the film Performance.
From March 2000 to 2003 Bella consulted for British heritage brand Jaeger, rejuvenating their image and bringing British dressing to a younger audience.
Bella’s love of film continued and in 2013 she art directed the short film Je T’Ecoute, produced by Laura Bailey starring Lara Stone, which screened at White Cube Bermondsey. Bella’s directorial debut ‘Girl Boils Egg’ is a two minute film featuring Punk, commissioned by Nick Knight for SHOWstudio.com.
2013 also saw the development of the RTW collections and expansion into the beauty market. The Bella Freud Eau de Parfum collection was launched in 2014 and has gained a cult following.
A few years ago we lived and worked in East London. We saw a lot of trends, styles, brands, come and go. But it was practically overnight that I spotted guys wearing NEW BALANCE trainers; and I’m not gonna lie, I was like “how are they even making a come back?!”. As a kid, New Balance were always a trainer that I saw as being fit for purpose, like for playing Tennis in or something else sporty!
A few more weeks went by, seeing more and more colours of sneaks popping up; and then I saw a pair of Bordeaux Red (my favourite wine no less) New Balance 574’s in the window of Albam, Spitalfields. I fell in love. I wanted them for myself, even though they were Men’s. I knew right then that my opinion on New Balance had been overturned, forever. And rightly so.
Fast forward 5 years and my almost 4 year old is loving life in his very own pair of All-Black 574’s.
For those who don’t perhaps know, Eli was born with several medical conditions – Talipes, Torticollis and Hypermobility. From before he was even born, Eli endured some pretty intense tests, scans, physio and corrective treatments (Ponseti method). He came out the other side meeting the milestones that all his pals met, at the same age (and some he hit even sooner than anticipated!). While, on the outset Eli looks ‘fixed’, you can’t help but notice just how clumsy he can be, how off-balance he can be and how crazily flexible he can be! He’s super-active and he never did learn to *just* walk – he quite literally got up one day and RAN. Eli also doesn’t sleep well – never has – since being a newborn. We sometimes excuse his lack of sleep with, “he just doesn’t want to miss out”, “he’s being a typical toddler”. But the older he’s getting, the more convinced we are that it could well be his conditions waking him and giving him jip. He’s commented recently on his feet and knee’s being sore. We were told that it’s likely he could grow up with Migraines and will get early onset Arthritis due to the flexibility of his joints. (We have his next check-up with his consultant in June).
When Eli did start running walking we struggled to find suitable footwear that supported him fully, that would aid against relapse and would keep him upright. With this all in mind, I wanted to highlight how good these trainers are for his feet; and his balance (no pun intended). They’re a great fit for him, just narrow enough. They tie quite tightly, with no rubbing at any points. They keep him more sturdy than any other footwear he has, yet they’re really lightweight. They’ve worn exceptionally well and actually still look brand new. Eli has commented that they’re “my comfy adventure shoes”. And I think that says it all! He’s really happy with them – he runs like the wind in them – and looks pretty cool too.
I ordered Eli’s 574’s from OFFICE and had them delivered within the week to Berlin. They have a massive range of Kids’ New Balance styles, in loads of wicked colours. There are also velcro versions for smaller feet… or for feet that love untying those shoe laces! You can shop the full range online here.
Another year has passed since I opened the dashboard to this blog. And my feet have barely touched the ground.
We’ve had birthday’s and Christmas, losing job’s, starting a new business, starting a new/old job, more birthday’s and the beginning of our biggest adventure yet – a move across the land and water to BERLIN. As most folk know, we love an adventure. We also love a house move (not the actual packing and unpacking bit though!) This time, we packed up our suitcases (x3) and somehow managed to get our entire home into a single storage unit and flew out of London Southend airport on 31st August; marking our 9th house move in the near-12 years we’ve been together. And definitely the most exciting house move to date.
We’ve relocated to Prenzlauer Berg, in central Berlin with work. Having been here a fortnight now, we absolutely love it! We will be registering as Berlin resident’s next week, which has so far hindered a lot of other registrations – such as applying for a Kita-Gutschein (I’ll document this process once we have one in hand!) and applying for a bank account etc. So we’ll be able to start to really settle into Berlin life once all these last hurdles have been overcome. PHEW!
In the meantime, I’ll be getting back into engaging with my blog. I’ve missed it so much. But living literally just around the corner from work and Eli’s prospective nursery, I’ll finally be able to find the time to go back to writing and reviewing – and of course, documenting our adventures along the way. I can’t wait!
Be sure to follow me on Instagram to keep up with the latest: @JudyPink
In 2009 I fell in love with a ring. Not just any ring… THE ring. The Yves Saint Laurent “Arty” ring.
I was working at AllSaints HQ at the time and I generally had my head between the sheets of Vogue at every opportunity. THE ring was everywhere I turned. All stunning and gold and stunning… and gold. It also came with a hefty pricetag. Not a pricetag I could have justified on a ring, on my wage; and irregardless, said-wage was spent on endless Friday’s at the Golden Heart followed by falafel wrap en route to our apartment on Regent’s Canal (this all seems like such a lifetime ago, it’s quite nice to reminisce!)
My lust for The ring grew to another level when I accompanied a friend to the YSL store on Bond Street to ACTUALLY try on The ring for his then girlfriend… he was buying her it for Christmas. Which was lovely. I was green with envy; as you can imagine! Talk about rubbing salt into thine wounds!
Years passed and I always said, “When I pass my driving test, The ring will be mine! I will buy it as an extra special treat for my deserved achievements”. We lived in London at the time – and I was still yet to even think about booking driving lessons, never-mind pass my test!
Several more years pass and “OH MY GOD, THEY’VE DISCONTINUED THE RING”.
True story. The ring was taken out of production. It was no more. It began disappearing from all the usual retail websites. Devastated doesn’t cut it. I NEEDED The ring.
The driving lessons began back in February 2013. A mere 10 years after I SHOULD have started them, like everyone else around me. Better late than never… eh? The ring became hot topic once more. The ring spurred me on to take my first test… and the second test… and the third test… and my……… (you get the picture). I would hunt The ring down when I’d passed my test. The ring would be mine!
My birthday this year came and we went to the City of Bath for a lovely overnight trip. Eli was good as gold and I had a really lovely birthday with my little family. I didn’t have presents. That didn’t matter, I had my little family and life is for living and memories are to be made.
A few weeks ago the game changed. Mr Memoirs was fussing about upstairs. He’d been shifty about a parcel that had arrived that said “PRIVATE DOCUMENTS” on the front. I’d obviously What’s App’ed my nearest and dearest about the parcel; who all conclusively suggested that the parcel contained house deeds, or marriage documents (are they even a thing?!). I knew it wouldn’t be either, because we’re nowhere near to reaching our dream abode and we’re nowhere near to marriage (even after a decade of adventures together!).
Mr Memoirs asked for me to bring Mr Eli upstairs for his bath… nothing out of the ordinary there.
Until I went into the bedroom. On the bed was a card and a box. The card was a Belle and Boo belated birthday card. The box was a jewellery box… and inside was… THE RING.
A belated birthday gift from my boy’s. I was stunned. I was completely gobsmacked once more at the lengths Mr Memoirs does go. And I am so so lucky!
Goodness knows how Mr Memoirs sourced it. But my god, he did good! It fits perfectly. It shines perfectly. It’s a perfect piece of art. It’s perfect. I am in love.
“Shy bairns get nowt”. For those who don’t understand what this means… I shall explain! This well known phrase (an overused phrase by oneself!) translates to: a shy person doesn’t get anything without asking for it.
I absolutely LOVE this mug. My dear friend Christie bought me it for my birthday this year, but due to Royal Mail being HORRENDOUS the birthday gift not only arrived smashed to smithereens but as we were out at time, it was put into a food caddy that was FULL of food at the time. (I honestly don’t know where to begin with that one!).
A few weeks ago, we went back to Newcastle for the first time in 6 years, where we had once lived for 4 years, to visit our lovely friends Christie (who sent me the mug!) and Adam. Our Motherland is a 1 hour drive from Newcastle, so we used a lot of Geordie lingo to begin with, but living in Newcastle gave me a proper tongue from the Toon! This mug is perfect for me and I couldn’t wait to get it replaced!
I managed to get the mug back Daaaaaahn Safff in one piece, I’m hoping it remains the case!
Wot Ma Like is an ingenius brand from husband and wife team, Jo & Nick Burrows, who set up the Geordie Mug company initially, before expanding the dialects to include accents such as Yorkshire, Scouse and Manc to name but a few. Their items are definitely one-of-a-kind and make such great gifts and treats for your home. We’ll definitely be purchasing more items for ourselves and others! I do love to give Independant, small and local brands a shout out – so if you’re a new/small/local business, please do get in touch!
You can find my “Shy bairns get nowt” mug as well as other Geordie products on their website: wotmalike.co.uk and you can follow them on Twitter @wotmalike