Saima Says Style

Today I was in central London with a friend and we popped along to the The Mangle Xmas Sale as we were close by. I had told myself I wouldn’t spend any money but then…Rob Ryan was there! And all his tiles were £5! I just had to get this one because I’d had my eye on it for ages and it just reminds me of my husband whenever I see it. Rob was so lovely and humble when I told him how much I loved his work.

Then I saw Hazel Nicholls of Reapwhatisew. I love her stuff too and have been coveting her pastel “It’s What Inside That Counts” print for ages. At £100 I’ve been a bit reluctant to buy it. On her stall however she was selling artist’s proofs of her prints for £20 and when I asked her, it turned out she did have a pastel one! Hurrah.

After the fair we went to check out the ice skating at Somerset House. They had set up a Tiffany’s Tuck Shop…well I’ll let the pictures do the talking here. (Poor quality as they’re taken with my camera phone.) All in all, another fun day in my favourite city.

This is a short post to share a Hallowe’en card I made a few years ago for a friend. It was around the time I first saw and loved Shaun of the Dead. Five years later and it’s still my favourite film. I used a template from Zombie Pumpkins and raised the cutout to put Happy Halloween confetti behind it. I stuck on acetate too to make a window from which you could view the confetti. Needless to say, my friend loved it.

It’s been a while since I talked about cupcakes but then I saw the new Next Christmas gift collection and my love for all things cupcake came flooding back. Throw in pastel colours and Russian dolls and I’m totally on board.

How beautiful has this Bank Holiday been?! I’m not sure about the rest of the country but the weather in London was perfect for a barbeque with friends and family and that’s exactly what we had. Our theme was Hawaiian so we had grass table skirts, fruit centrepieces and flower garlands for all of our guests. The kids also loved the giant Connect 4, dominoes and Jenga we had hired for the day. The barbeque was very tasty, especially as it was the first time my husband and I had ever hosted one.

The highlight of the food however was the sundae bar we set up. We had ice cream (of course), dessert sauces, wafers, mini Oreo cookies, chopped nuts, strawberries, mini muffins, chocolate chips, sprinkles and cream. We let our guests build their own sundaes and everyone seemed to really enjoy the whole experience. The sundae glasses are actually MJÖD beer glasses from IKEA, the long handled spoons and plastic ice cream cups were from eBay. Hope your long weekend was fab too!

Here in the UK, May is the month of Bank Holiday, hurrah! Here are my favourite spring-inspired flowery holdalls/weekend bags that will add a touch of style to your weekend away.

Cherry Blossom Weekender – Accessorize

ASOS Rose Print Bowler Holdall – ASOS

A Chiswick Flowers Holdall – Cath Kidston