Pretty much half way through this bank holiday and I’m turning into a bit of sloth. But a sloth surrounding myself with lots of delightful things to please all the senses. We’re on a bit of a health kick in this household at the moment so got some excellent tea and superfood powder blends at the ready too…

I’m also little a bit obsessed with Australian summer fun style at the moment, so say hello to Posse and last week I visited the brilliant Smug store in Camden Passage, met the gorgeous owner Lizzie and picked up the most wonderfully random assortment of stuff. I have the most divine smelling perfume to share with you, plus one of London’s best knitwear designers Genevieve Sweeney and, responsible for this yesterday’s super indulgent lie-in gorgeous stonewashed linen from Piglet In Bed. Walk this way…

When we moved house – over a year ago now! – I decided it was time to upgrade up to adult status. This meant a lot of streamlining and tidying and also making some important purchases (which I’d spent quite a few months saving for, in the knowledge we were moving!). I bit the bullet and bought some very expensive, very beautiful stone-washed linen for our bed, duvet cover, sheet and pillows. I love the look and the feel and when it’s time for a wash, I have to get it all done in a day because I don’t have any spares!

See the duvet in action here on Instagram

I’d def been aware of Piglet In Bed, mainly due to their gorgeous online presence and am delighted to show you their oh-so grown-up French flax stone-washed lined in grey. Which is wonderfully soft compared to our current bright white. The king duvet cover fits our duvet perfectly (much better than our white one, which is a little big and flaps on the edges, plus the buttons have all popped off!). And the Piglet buttons look much better attached and there are more of them, so no puffles of duvet poking out at the bottom! Tied up in the bundles pictured are the lovely pillow cases to match.

I wished I’d known about Piglet In Bed and their much better made covers and much more reasonable prices when I’d first splashed out! So if you’ve been waiting to take the plunge, I would say these are the ones…

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Stonewashed linen pillow cases* |  Piglet In Bed

There are so many gorgeously covetable things being made by Australian brands right now – I may been currently browsing Notting Hill’s The Dayrooms right now, ahem! – and having stumbled upon Posse via the Instagram wormhole I promptly snapped up their sweet little Roundie bag and raffia slides. Super cute touches for summer looks and they do not cost the earth. Lots of highly desirable clothing pieces too, just having to hold myself back basically…

On my Instagram the bag & the slides

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Bag & slides |Posse

I’m hoping you’ve already come across the super talented Genevieve Sweeney who makes fabulous knits in thoughtful shapes and textures that result in pieces that feel like something you’ll have forever. This knit has been practically welded to me while spring and winter battle it out. It couldn’t be more perfect under a leather jacket and yes, it’s what I wore to film my first You Tube video in forever. One of those pieces that you feel like knows you better than you know yourself!

And on the theme of staying cosy, I never under-estimate the healing power of a hot bath. It’s the first thing I do when arriving home from a trip away or I feel a headache coming on. My  bathsalt supplies have run low recently so I’ve restocked with some the nerve calming and centering Indie Lee jasmine & ylang ylang. Although top tip from A Beautiful World founder Liz is to use a body scrub which has sea salts in it, as they’ll also have skin hydrating things like oils and shea butter. Liz recommends the new Palm Springs by The Body Deli which is a great scrub which can then turn into a detox bath soak.

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 Jumper* | Genevieve Sweeney

Bath Salts | Indie Lee/A Beautiful World

Despite my one coffee a day habit, when it comes to teas, I like them caffeine free and am always on the lookout for new flavours and interesting brands. I’ve been trying out a selection of blends from My Tea Time – made from whole buds and leaves, are perfume-free, chemical-free and have trace-to-zero caffeine and with brilliant names like Tummy Tonic and and Lemmune Superboost. They come in sachets which you hang on the side of the cup (add hot water to steep!) and which can be reused for another time.

As I mentioned, we’re generally on a bit of health kick in this household – lots of immune supporting supplements and saurkraut in our salads! – and the perfect addition to a daily smoothie (I have a reliable kale, frozen berries, seeds and banana mix!) is a blend of a whole load of lovely superfoods from Soil, Vegan & Vegetarian Association approved Alchemy. But you can also mix with water or sprinkle over a cereal, although I find it easiest to take in my smoothie but if I’m short on time I’ll know it back with a half glass of water and few squirts of lemon which really help! I’ve just started trying out the Morning Elixir (your daily dose of Vitamin C and a rich source of fibre, plant protein & antioxidants) after a week of the berry & free radicals rich Beauty Elixir. Between these and my new daily yoga routine, I’m finally feeling like one of those super healthy glowy people! 

ps. There’s 25% off with your first order at Alchemy with code alchemy25 🙂 

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Teabags* |  My Tea Time

Super Blends* | Alchemy

This perfume first arrived with me as a tiny sample bottle which I smelt before I saw it. Intoxicated, I scrabbled into the tissue paper to discover what it was. I can’t quite describe how delicious it was to me! I’ve never been that overwhelmed by perfumes and never found one I liked so much, but my heart beat frantically as I eeked out my small sample and waited for a full size bottle to arrive…

Can you believe, I even spray this on myself before going to bed, is that weird? So addicted! I haven’t quite identified the ingredients that are driving me so zany, but they are a mix of rose, geranium, lavender, coconut, grapeseed & almond which are all on the ingredients list. And all organic! From hair & skincare LA expert Josh Rosebrook. I know perfume is such a personal thing, and I know we can all have such different tastes, but this is the one for me! Expensive, but to me, worth it. Am already planning to stock up in fear that one day it won’t be around!

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Perfume* | Josh Rosebrook/A Beautiful World

I mentioned on my Stories recently that I paid a visit to fab little shop Smug in Camden Passage. After having a lovely natter and cuppa with owner Lizzie (full of so many wonderful plans & projects!) I indulged myself in a rummage and picked up the most wonderfully random assortment of things – from a soap dish to the required soap (by Soap Co. a social enterprise employing people who are blind or otherwise disabled or disadvantaged), matches in a pretty box for Instagram purposes ;), pencil sharpener, toothbrush and cute little Hay rubbers for Gus.

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Soap, matches & rubbers | Smug

I should have grouped this together with the perfume or salts as it’s also from A Beautiful World, but it’s not how the photos came out! I’ve had the organic Chocolate Sun Lite body tan cream on my shelf for quite a while and I often pop a bit on my face for some much-needed colour.

But now there’s a new face specific tanning gel which I’ve been trying out. As a ‘2’ it’s a little stronger than the ‘1’ I’ve been using on my body, but I was brave and carefully smeared some on my face to let it sink in – and managed to wash my hands properly to prevent any stupid tan marks! It gives a lovely, healthy natural colour and I’m using this every other day to trick myself and the world into thinking I’ve got a lovely touch of sun. Chocolate sun ;P

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Self tan* | Chocolate Sun Cocoa Illume/A Beautiful World

All photography by myself on Olympus Pen F with 25mm f1.2 lens

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*Asterix denotes a review item; as always I only ever feature and review things I truly love ????