Christmas Wish List

Ach, the age old dilemma of want vs need.

What do I need for Christmas?

Well, nothing really, if we're being strict on the definition of need. My phone is about 4 years old and dying and my Kindle is nearly as ancient and has developed lots of odd vertical lines on the screen so I sense that's equally close to a painful demise. I need to replace both of them fairly soon but they're not exactly within most people's price range for presents! It'd be nice to have a working car radio too but god, is that a boring present to ask for or what?!

What do I want?

That's equally tricky. I really love surprises so although any of the below things would make me a very happy Alex, I don't want to actually ask anyone for them because I don't want to know what I'm getting. Dilemma!

I'll share them with you lot though - I know lots of us bloggers have similar tastes so perhaps they'll prove to be the perfect gift for someone else you know!


Fellow grammar Nazis will love this series of mugs by the Literary Gift Company:

This one is literally my favourite.


If you go back a post you'll see just how much I love Mary Poppins. You won't be surprised that I really want both of these prints:

L: Chimney Sweep Silhouette by The Happy Thought Shop. R: Mary Poppins linocut by Blackberry Press

They're from different sellers and so they don't match exactly but I think they make a lovely pair anyway.



Having a part-time horse has reintroduced me to the joys of muddy fields and massive farmyard puddles. My Joules wellies are holding up ok so far but I would really like a fleece lined pair to keep my tootsies properly warm over the winter.

I found this brilliant pair of wellies on Amazon of all places and they're now top of my list. Green! Polka dots! Fleece lined! Wide calf! Perfect!


I love my Elizabeth I ring from Cheap Frills and I'm an equally big admirer of Anne Boleyn.

So this necklace needs to be mine, right?



I can't afford much in the way of new clothes at the moment so I've been trying to avoid the shops. Being Twitter pals with some dedicated shopaholics makes that difficult though!

I'm doing my best but I can't stop hankering after this ASOS stained glass print frock. Beautiful!


Books are always welcome. My Amazon wishlist is flipping enormous but these six are hovering near the top.

Top (L-R)Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan, The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
Bottom (L-R)The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman (the first in this series was ace), The Exiles Return by Elizabeth de Waal and Terra by Mitch Benn.


Finally, as I wouldn't be me if I weren't lusting after something from Irregular Choice...

I was very sad when the Long Lashes boots proved to be a no-no for me. The matching bag has always been a temptation.

And I've managed to track down not one but two varieties of Flick Flack that I like. I thought it was impossible!

Shiny red

Tweedy red

Mary Poppins

I love Mary Poppins.

It all started with the books. I could give you chapter and verse about how the Mary Poppins of the books is not the same as the film version (in short: much snarkier and much better) but basically, just go and read them and discover their glory for yourself. I'm always amazed by the amount of people who've never picked them up. They're brilliant.

Then the film, obviously. It inspired a deep love of chimney sweeps and rooflines.

Then, back in the day when the Disney Store still sold Mary Poppins things (hoping this day will come again now that Saving Mr Banks is due out), I got the mug:

I picked up my beloved locket from Etsy a few years ago. So simple and so beautiful.

And now I have the tshirt!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious tshirt c/o Brag Vintage

I can merrily browse the interent forever in search of the perfect Mary Poppins goodies but I am fussy about what I like. Etsy is proving fruitful at the moment (more on this in a future post) but I'm currently saving my pennies to cover the customs charges on this Spoonflower Mary Poppins fabric. It has to be purchased in the near future. I'd be scared to cut into it but I must have it!

It also comes in colour but I think I prefer the black and white.


My dream item (other than the carpet bag) would be the tape measure. Alas I fear it would not say practically perfect in every way. It'd be more along the lines of this:

*[]*

An Etsy Discovery

Oh Etsy.  I love it, I really do.  It's a veritable treasure trove of amazing stuff.  Yet it's so very big (and, let's be honest, not the easiest website in the world to navigate) that I tend to go "oof" at the thought of idly browsing through it for pleasure.  I haven't got the patience.  I have to brace myself and do it all in one huge go when I've got my Christmas presents list in front of me instead.

I cope much better with Etsy when someone goes "OI ALEX, LOVELY STUFF ALERT!"  That way I can add it to my favourites, check back every now and then for shiny new things and not have to go through the whole palaver of browsing through 987623 pages of stuff that I don't want to find the one perfect thing that I do want. 

Louise from Naive Melodies got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to let me know about her Etsy shop which sells v. pretty jewellery.

She very kindly sent me the rectangle charm necklace. Isn't it lovely? I know the trendy fashion blogger thing at the moment is for massive, chunky, neon necklaces but I do not like them. At all. Massive jewellery, whether that be necklaces, earrings or rings, is for other people. It's not for me. It weighs me down and irritates me.  Big or long necklaces are the worst.  I have a terrible habit of getting them caught on things (especially door handles, which hate me) and either breaking them or nearly garroting myself. I like my necklaces pretty and, even if they're not exactly what you'd call little and dainty, on the simple side.  This is perfect.

I did want to do a proper outfit post but, well, I've got the plague and my face isn't fit to make an appearance on the blog right now.  The hedgehog jumper is from ASOS btw.

Louise has very kindly provided me (and you!) with a discount code for 33% off all purchases at Naive Melodies - just enter SOCKS33 in the appropriate box when you're paying. I'm sure you'll find something you like on there! I think I'll treat myself to the arrowhead necklace.  I need a bit more gold coloured jewellery in my life.

A Tudor Treat

Twitter can be a dangerous thing. Not for the usual internet-based doom and gloom reasons. The real danger is to my bank balance. I follow a lot of bloggers and by god, you girls know how to shop and how to sniff out the good things online! I'm usually very good and strong willed, but occasionally something will catch my attention and my good sense gets over ridden because I MUST HAVE IT.

Within limits, obviously... I'm not that daft.

This time, it was a ring. And as payday coincided with a 25% off discount code it was actually a very sensible purchase. *nods sagely*

Char retweeted something last week from Cheap Frills and as I had a spare moment, I went for a quick mooch around their site.  There was a lot of lovely stuff to admire but one glimpse at the Elizabeth I cameo ring and I really, really had to have it.

I am a complete history nerd and I have a special fondness for the Tudor period. I've even been on a Tudor themed road trip, which was awesome. This piece of jewellery could virtually have been designed to appeal specially to me. I'm super pleased I own it now.

Terrifically (un)tidy

I've been looking at a lot of lifestyle blogs today. Marvellous as some of them are, they do have a tendency to depress me. Everything is so stylish it hurts. I read through them and end up whimpering gently to myself about the lack of wooden floorboards, big cosy chairs and cute cushions in my life. Not only are they stylish, they're always depressingly tidy.

I live in a rented house so unfortunately there's nothing I can do about the wallpaper/carpets/weird fitted wardrobes but I can work on my own inability to throw things away.  It started towards the end of last year with epic amount of books and trinkets being hauled off to the charity shop but I'm still generally surrounded by towering piles of stuff. My bookcases don't have three artfully placed Penguin Classics and a quirky retro tin full of spring flowers on them. They're full of actual books. Double stacked and sometimes triple stacked. And they're a bit dusty. Shock horror! 

I have no wish to get rid of any of my good books but in the general spirit of decluttering, I'm chipping away at the other things bit by bit and I've made at least one tiny corner of my room tidier.  My smaller bookcase holds my most treasured children's books - the entire Chalet School series and a wide assortment of Roald Dahl, Trebizon, Drina, Borrowers and Mary Poppins books amongst others.  It's also a very useful height for putting stuff on, so the top is generally buried in dead receipts and spare pairs of glasses and various phone/mp3/camera chargers.   Not any more it's not!

It now holds earrings and necklaces, neatly stored on some wooden stands:

My diary, writing notebook and an assortment of books that have risen magically to the top of the to-read pile:

An old, but very pretty Ikea lamp:

And occasionally a candle.  In my continued efforts to get rid of crap I'm on a 2013 mission to burn all the candles that have been sitting in my room for, in some cases, years.  Unsurprisingly, the scented ones that have been there that long haven't exactly retained their scent but I like fire and I love the smell of burnt out matches so I'm merrily working my way through them anyway.  Four down, two to go...

It's on a vintage saucer and there's a Penguin paperback behind it.  I'm getting there!

ps - check out CROCHET CAT.  He's an adornment to any room.

He's also very disapproving and "MOTHER! For god's sake! Why are you putting a BLANKET on me?"

Cracking Christmas Giveaway: Day Six

Day Six sees me calling all crazy cat ladies (and gentlemen. Wouldn't want to discriminate!) and #wardrobezoo fans.  On offer today are:

A cat bag and ring, purchased by me (both from ASOS)

And this fabulous Puss In Books book provided by the British Library gift shop

Raise your paw if you want to win them!  Gosh, I really need to stop picking giveaway prizes that I want to keep for myself.  This ring is adorable, the bag is beautiful (and big! I love a big clutch) and the book looks fascinating, with a whole host of feline themed nursery rhymes, poems, stories and gorgeous illustrations.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Odd Socks Christmas Gift Guide

There are a lot of Christmas gift guides floating around the internet at the moment.  I love them.  I adore buying presents anyway but with gift guides, someone else has done all the hard work and found amazing things and shops for you.  What's not to like?  If I have a slight beef with them (and I do), it's that they tend to be very specific in their categories - "For him" "For her" "For the kids" "For your mum".  That's not my approach to present buying, or to life in general.  Why categorise things and people?  Just buy good stuff! I got my dad the Adventure Series by Enid Blyton for Christmas last year (which he LOVED btw) and I highly doubt that would have appeared on any of these "For Your Dad" lists.

I hereby dub this The Odd Socks Guide to Shiny, Marvellous Things on the Internet.

Catchy, huh?  Basically, these are amazing things I have discovered. Not your obvious things from places like ASOS and Amazon (although I do very strongly recommend the waterproof mp3 player from my last post cos it's brilliant) because you're bound to come across those yourself during the course of your mooches around the internet. These are just things I've found that I like. If they match the taste of someone you need to buy a present for, get them.  Or just buy them for yourself.  I won't judge.

The beauty of craft kits is that you have a choice: either give a crafty person the kit as a present or buy it, make it yourself and give the finished item to a non-crafty person instead.  I came across Gift Horse Kits on Twitter earlier this year and tackled Project Bunny as one of my summer things to do.  The kit was absolutely wonderful - very nicely packaged up, contained absolutely everything and had some brilliant, clear instructions.  I'd definitely recommend buying or making the Little Red Ted, Love Cats and amazingly cute Robins.

I went on holiday with Heather, the lovely and very creative person behind Custard Bean, earlier in the year.  Look, you can see her larking around in this post! She makes the most beautiful quilts and bunting, some of which decorated our holiday cottage in fine style.  Her etsy store is stocked up with fab handmade festive goodies at the moment, including this tweed stocking and a range of handmade tree decorations.  Or if you know someone with a Kindle, I'm sure they could do with a good Kindle cover.

Book lovers may drool at this one.  It's the Delightful Reading Spa at Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath.  If you live in that part of the world then frankly I don't know why you haven't bought this already.  For the rest of us, it's worth going all the way there just for this.  It's got to be worth every single penny of the £55 it costs.  Book heaven.

Cat fans, feast your eyes upon The Cat Gallery.  One of the volunteers at work introduced me to this website after I went a bit mad at the sight of her brilliant cat earrings one day.  She'd been to the actual shop in York but the website is just as much fun.  They sell pretty much everything cat related that you might ever need.  I'm sure you know a person (or cat) who'd appreciate the Crazy Cat Lady mug, glow in the dark collar, LED miaowing keyring or black cat roll holder.

I like a good papercut.  No, not the incredible painful yet minor injury, the craft!  Rob Ryan stuff is beautiful and readily available but it's worth seeking out some of the other online alternatives, such as Folk Art Papercuts on Etsy.  It's full of stunningly intricate designs available as prints or cards - the above picks are the Folk Art House, Long Necked Cat with Birds, Hillside Village and Horse prints.

My main beef with buying things from the USA is that, unless the total cost is very cheap, you get clobbered with customs and handling charges before the Royal Mail deigns to let you have your parcel. Threadless were awesome anyway but now they are straight at the top of my Hurrah List (yes, there is such a thing) for giving you a postage price which includes pre-paid customs so you know exactly how much you're spending. Also, their sale has been extended until this evening (28th Nov) so you can get loads of their tshirts for $9.99 (about £6ish) each. BUY BUY BUY!

I recommend Toile About You (aka my favourite print in the history of the world EVER), Bunnythmetic and Paper Zoo totes, the Runnin' Rhino iPhone case, and Oscar's Hideout and Captain Obvious tshirts.  But the beauty of the site is that you can pretty much pick your favourite design and you've got a whole array of tshirt sizes and styles to choose from, plus quite often there are other products (phone cases, bags, socks etc) in that design as well.

Sweets!  None of your cynical "oh aren't we retro, lol" packaging here.  This is proper stuff, sold by people who know what they're talking about.  A Quarter Of is my go-to website when I want something delicious and sweet.  Candy necklaces, Christmas Pud sweets, Iron Brew humbugs (zomg, they are truly amazing), vampire teeth... if they don't sell them, they probably aren't worth buying.

The Literary Gift Company is a truly glorious website.  I can browse through it with quite a number of friends in mind and immediately find about 96 things they'd love.  It's that good and that full of fab, quirky items.  I know exactly which people would like the procrastination pen, I Capture The Castle earrings, Go Away I'm Blogging mug, Penguin cufflinks and Shhh mug.

If you're buying for people who are a bit more academic than literary, check out their sister site Present Indicative. We all need a Votes for Women teatowel...

Jezebel Charms is one of my very favourite Etsy shops.  Some Etsy jewellery shops can be a bit samey but this really isn't.  It's full of wonderfully designed and unusual items that span the genres from Austen to Shakespeare to music and steampunk.  The Jane Austen quote necklace, Sherlock Holmes cuff, Regency dancing earrings and antique London map cuff are all fabulous.