Giorgio Armani Si Eau de Parfum*

I'm finding it tricky to pick the perfect scent now that I'm approaching 30. Old favourites seem sickly sweet now but some classic scents are are a little over powering. This scent is fused with Mandarin Oil, Roses de Mai, Blond Woods, Amber and Vanilla and Si feels like the perfect match for me; someone who isn't a teenager anymore but doesn't really feel grown up. I would say that this is quite a sultry, evening scent and it lingers on the skin. I'm currently eyeing up Estee Lauder Modern Muse as my next fragrance of choice after getting a sample in my latest 'gift time' bag when I repurchased my Double Wear foundation. Si is quickly becoming my new favourite scent. 

If you have any scent recommendations please let me know in the comments, always looking to try scents that make an impact rather than lighter, floral types.

I went through a bit of a phase of being obsessed with the Mitford sisters who are an aristocratic English family and they enjoyed particular notoriety in the early twentieth century. Nancy was a writer, Unity had a Hitler obsession, Diana married a fascist, Jessica was a Communist, Deborah was a Duchess and Pamela lived a relatively quiet life and enjoyed looking after horses and poultry. 

Nancy Mitford's most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love is a comedy about the British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties and charts the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an unconventional (bonkers) family closely modelled on Mitford's own. The book is incredibly funny, Nancy writes with a great deal of wit but there are also some more poignant moments. 

“Life is sometimes sad and often dull, but there are currants in the cake, and here is one of them.” 
― Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love.

Next up on my 'to read' pile are the Mary Poppins books, Love, Nina and Sense and Sensibility. 

What are your favourite things at the moment? 

This was the room that sold the house to me. It's got a lovely fireplace, original picture rail, built in storage and a big bay window looking out on to the back yard. The floor is currently filled with our bikes and clutter that needs to go in the shed once we put it together and there are a few finishing touches to add as it's looking a bit stark. There was a big surprise with this room, when we pulled the fireplace back to paint the wall we discovered the recess was only propped up with a bit of wood and we've had to put a lintel in to support the chimney breast. Home owning comes with lots of lovely little surprises like this... Once the attic room is ready I'll be moving the record collection up there and putting a Welsh dresser in their place.

I'm not particularly happy with this room at the moment. The tiling and worktops are both new but the previous owners made sloppy work of both of them. I need to re-grout the tiles and seal them where they meet the worktop and the worktop needs some edging to stop it blistering. I'm hoping to replace the cupboard doors over the next couple of months with some white ones which will make the room much brighter and more to my taste. The kitchen carcass is new so I won't need to replace that which will mean a budget kitchen makeover.  

I'm really happy with how everything is coming together with the house. There's so much left to do which isn't always easy to get done when myself, Martyn and my family all work varied shifts but we're getting there. This is the final introductory post to my new house, you can see the rest of my new house by clicking here and some before photos here.