My shabby chic decorations

We all have a favourite room in our house, don't we?

My favourite room is what I call the "tree room". I'm sure you can figure out why I call it that...

When I moved in to the house I'm in now this room became my little project. It used to be a horrible baby blue, with only a desk and a sofa bed in it. No decorations whatsoever!

I decided to paint it white with one focal wall in olive green. This wasn't quite enough though, so I designed a swirly tree which I painted on the biggest wall in the room. It took me 8 hours, and it was definitely worth it!

The decorations in this room all go in purple, green and white. I've kind of tried to go for a shabby chic style, and the lovely 1920's bureau I found in an antique shop is just the perfect piece of furniture to really add to the shabby chic feeling. I've decorated it with a couple of old fashioned looking pieces, as well as a painting with a life quote that I made last year.

This lovely little shabby chic metal trike with a bunch of dried flowers in a wicker basket is a new addition to my tree room. It was kindly gifted to me by Scented Florat Creations, and consists of gorgeous smelling dried lavender, pods, grass and preserved leaves.

 This large mantle clock in a kind of off-white colour is also a pretty new addition to my collection. It was a Christmas present from my dear boyfriend, and it's from the home range at Next. 

My window piece is a black iron branch with leaves, green drops, and matching green cups for tealights. I bought it a couple of years ago in a little individual interior decoration shop in Leamington Spa, which I unfortunately can't remember the name of.

This window piece is quite pretty as well, don't you think? ;)

My cat is a real photo model, and just wants to be where things are happening all the time.

And that's pretty much it - a closer look at my favourite room in the house.

What do you think?

What's your favourite room in your home and why?

Traditional English luxury gifts

 

Who doesn't love a hot drink and some good quality chocolate?

The lovely people at Mylah Rose kindly sent me some from their luxury collection to try, and I'm in love!

Mylah Rose is all about English elegance, and focuses on high quality, luxury gifts made in England. You can say it's all about tradition, and what you'll find in their collections are typically English - everything from men's grooming and ladies' luxury bath products, to cusions, candles and of course chocolate and tea. 

The lovely gift I was sent consisted of a box of the Union Flag Fine Chocolate Selection (£16.99) and some classic English loose tea. The box of chocolate included 16 pieces of high quality chocolates from the brand Charbonnel et Walker - all different flavours. I devoured the hazelnut praline and it was absolutely divine!

Having had a browse around Mylah Rose's website I must say I'm very impressed. Everything looks so typically old fashioned English, and I'm especially smitten with the adorable little tea sets. 

So if you're stuck for ideas of what present to get someone for that fancy dinner party you're going to - I would definitely recommend this venerable boutique.

Review of Blackhouse grill in Leeds

One of my favourite restaurants in Leeds is Blackhouse – also called The Grill on the Square - which is situated on East Parade. Just because of this reason and no other, I have decided to write a review about it.

Me and my boyfriend enjoyed a three course dinner at Blackhouse one Sunday evening in the end of January. So why is this my favourite restaurant? Simple! They serve delicious, high quality food. But that’s not all! The main reason why I fell in love with this restaurant a couple of years ago is because of the atmosphere. The restaurant itself looks lovely with its dimmed lights, and every night they have someone playing the piano and singing. Now, I’ve got a weak spot for musical people with great singing voices, so this is really what tipped me over. 

 

Blackhouse offers quite a wide variety on their menu. However, bear in mind that they do specialise in steak.

Browsing through the menu my eyes were fixed on a tart, which I ordered for my starter. It was a mushroom, leek, confit garlic and cobnut tart with tarragon butter sauce, and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten in my life! I’m a sucker for mushrooms, and this tart was spot on. At £7 I don’t think it was too bad.

My boyfriend had the duck spring rolls with hoi sin dip as a starter. Personally I’m not a fan of duck as this isn’t something I’ve grown up eating and therefore find the taste a bit odd, but he really enjoyed this dish.

When it comes to the main dish there’s no question about it! I always order a steak of some kind (usually sirloin or fillet) when at a reputable steak restaurant such as Blackhouse – this time I had the 200g fillet steak. I know it’s recommended to eat it medium, but I can’t stand pink meat so I always order my steak well done. I try to vary the sides, and this time I went for mashed potatoes and a gorgeously creamy Diane sauce. We also ordered in some green beans as a side. The fillet is priced at £22.50 including some kind of potatoes, but you have to order the sauce and vegetables on the side.

I don’t usually have dessert as I get so full from the main dish, but since Blackhouse had an offer on in January for 50% off food we decided to have a dessert to share. We went for the warm chocolate fudge cake, and it was YUM! I always prefer a lighter, fruit based dessert, but since we were sharing I gave in to the chocolaty goodness. Definitely worth the £6 it was priced at.

We had a lovely dinner at Blackhouse in Leeds, and even had a cheeky glass of wine with our meal even though it was Sunday. If you ask me you know I’ll definitely recommend this restaurant. If you don’t want to go for the food, then at least go and have a drink in the bar and listen to the talented pianist.