Some coats are just for keeping you warm. Others make you want to plan an entire outfit around them. And then there’s this beauty from Joe Browns!
The Statement Jacquard Faux Fur Trim Coat is serving up vintage glamour with a wonderfully dramatic twist. With its eye-catching jacquard design and luxurious-looking faux fur trim, this is the sort of coat that wouldn’t look out of place in a period drama, a romantic winter fairytale or the wardrobe of someone who definitely has an interesting story to tell.
It’s got that lovely old-fashioned elegance about it, but with enough personality to stop it feeling like something borrowed from your granny’s wardrobe (although, if your granny owned a coat like this, she clearly had excellent taste!).
I’d be tempted to let the coat do all the talking, pairing it with a simple outfit and a fabulous pair of boots. Or, if you’re someone who believes you can never have too much going on in one outfit, why not embrace the drama with a gorgeous dress and some statement jewellery?
At £120, it’s certainly a statement purchase, but if you’re looking for something a little different from the usual sea of sensible winter coats, this one deserves a closer look…because life’s far too short for boring outerwear!
There are blankets you buy because you’re cold, and then there are blankets you buy because they are far too pretty not to buy! I’ve just found this gorgeous little collection of throws that immediately caught my eye, because they manage to combine two of my favourite things…they look snuggly and cosy and they ooze magical vibes. These are the sort of blankets that don’t just get thrown over you when the temperature drops. They become part of the room, they add character, charm, colour and warmth.
Enchanted Pink
Let’s start with the one that caught my eye in the first place, it says pink, but I think it’s more of a purple personally, but anyway, the Enchanted Pink throw is full of mystical little details, including hand-drawn magical creatures, potion bottles and other enchanting elements. It has that lovely feeling of discovering an old illustrated book full of secrets, except this one is much more useful when you’re curled up on the sofa! It does have the cosy factor too, it’s made from soft fleece with a sherpa reverse, so it’s designed to be properly snuggly as well as decorative.
Bootanical Multicolour
If you’re anything like me and prefer your homeware with a generous helping of colour, this could be the one for you. The Bootanical Multicolour (great name!) design brings the botanical side of the collection to life with a much brighter, more playful feel, I think it’s quite adorable. It’s colourful without being childish and decorative without being overly fussy. This is the one I can imagine draping over the arm of a chair in the living room, where it can be admired even when nobody is actually using it.
Celestial Stories Green
Now we’re getting into proper magical woodland-story territory. The Celestial Stories Green design has a darker, richer feel, making it particularly lovely for those cosy evenings when the curtains are closed, the lights are low and you have absolutely no intention of going anywhere. There’s something wonderful about the idea of surrounding yourself with a beautiful illustrated blanket and settling down for the evening. Add a good book, a hot mug of tea and you could probably convince yourself you’re in a tiny cottage somewhere in the middle of an enchanted forest.
Constellation Charcoal & Cream
And finally, something a little more grown-up. The Constellation Charcoal & Cream design takes the celestial theme and gives it a much more understated look. The darker charcoal tones make this one particularly easy to imagine in a bedroom or living room, while the constellation pattern gives it just enough quirkiness to stop it becoming another ordinary neutral throw. It’s proof that cosy doesn’t have to mean beige. And I’m always happy to see that.
Four blankets, four different moods! What I really like about this little collection is that each design has its own personality. The Enchanted Pink is magical and playful. The Bootanical Multicolour is bright and colourful. The Celestial Stories Green feels like something from an enchanted woodland, and Constellation Charcoal & Cream is the sophisticated one of the bunch. So whether your idea of a perfect cosy evening involves magical creatures, botanical gardens, woodland stories or gazing at the stars…there might just be a blanket here for you. I can’t decide in all honesty, I love them all. But saying that…nobody says you have to stick to only having one cosy blanket!!
I went looking for a few lovely autumn things. You know the sort of thing…something cosy, something warm, maybe a pumpkin or two. Perhaps a nice candle. Instead, I somehow ended up in what appears to be an enchanted woodland inhabited by mushrooms, fairies, witches and forest friends, and I’ve found some gorgeous products that could make your home or garden feel a little more magical. They all bring a different kind of glow, and will most certainly light up your lives this autumn.
The Mushroom Lamp
Let’s start with the obvious one. I absolutely adore this super Autumnal mushroom table lamp. I really do think that autumn and mushrooms just seem to belong together. This beautiful lamp has exactly the sort of cosy woodland feel I love at this time of year. And I particularly like the autumnal colouring. It looks like something that might have been discovered growing underneath a tree in an enchanted forest…except this one has decided it would quite like to live on my bedside table! Do I need a mushroom lamp? Probably not. Would my home be happier with one? Absolutely! And let’s be honest, there’s something rather lovely about switching on a little mushroom light when it’s dark and miserable outside…tea, blanket, mushroom lamp. Sorted!
The Witchy Pumpkin Lamp
Of course we need a pumpkin, but this isn’t just any pumpkin. This one is playing dress-up and now identifies as a witch! I mean…who wouldn’t want that sitting somewhere at home? It’s wonderfully novelty without being too much, and I think it would look particularly cute on a shelf, side table or windowsill once the evenings start getting darker, it does have a pretty, warm glow. It’s Halloween-ish, it’s autumn-ish, it’s a little bit magical, and it’s exactly the sort of thing that makes me think: “I wasn’t planning to buy that but it’s so cool…!”
The Witch on a Crescent Moon Lamp
Talking of witches and lamps, because one can’t have too many in my opinion…I found this rather lovely light-up witch sitting on a crescent moon. And I’m not sure whether she’s waiting for Halloween, waiting for autumn or simply having a very peaceful evening looking at the stars. Either way, I like her, and I wouldn’t mind having a chill out on the moon! There’s something about little glowing decorations that makes a dark autumn evening feel much cosier.
The Fairy House Garden Solar Light
Now this one really does make me want to create a tiny enchanted woodland garden. A little fairy house with lights tucked amongst plants, moss and fallen autumn leaves? Yes please. Imagine walking past it on a dark evening and seeing the little house glowing away. It makes you wonder who lives there. A fairy? A tiny woodland family? A very small person who has absolutely no intention of paying rent? We may never know. And that’s part of the fun. I think this would be especially lovely tucked amongst autumn plants rather than sitting all on its own. Give the fairies a little woodland home…they deserve it!
The Fairy-Tale Mushroom Cottage Garden Lights
This might be one of my favourite finds. They are little toadstool cottage garden lights, and they are just ridiculously charming. During the day, they’ll look like tiny woodland homes that have somehow found their way into your garden. Then, when the sun goes down, they light up and become something altogether more magical. I love little garden features like this because they don’t need to take over the whole garden to make an impact. Hide them amongst your plants, beside a path or into a little corner and suddenly there’s a tiny story going on down there.
The Enchanted Forest Ambient Lamp
And finally…something for those of us who would quite happily move into an enchanted forest if the opportunity presented itself. This enchanted forest ambient lamp brings that woodland feeling indoors. And I love the idea of using something like this during those darker autumn evenings. There’s something very comforting about soft lighting when it’s dark outside, especially when it’s raining, especially when you’re drinking tea, and especially when you have absolutely no intention of leaving the sofa!
Maybe we don’t need to be sensible about autumn, I think that’s what I love about this sort of thing. Autumn doesn’t have to mean buying matching cushions and putting a pumpkin on the mantelpiece. There’s definitely room for a little bit more uniqueness. A mushroom lamp, a glowing pumpkin wearing a witch’s hat, a witch sitting on the moon, a tiny fairy house, a fox and squirrel glowing in the garden, and an enchanted forest hiding somewhere in your home. It’s cosy. It’s whimsical. It’s a little bit kooky. And really, isn’t that much more fun? So if you find yourself looking at one of these and thinking…“I absolutely don’t need that” you know what to do, look at it again, because sometimes the things we don’t need are the things that make us smile the most.
One of the things I’ve become rather obsessed with over the last few years is air dry clay. It started when the boy had a set for his birthdays, we’d sit there and create little Minecraft style characters in general, but he cottoned on quite quickly that he could get the figures he couldn’t find in the shops if he asked me to create them for him. I made him the bone piranha plant from Super Mario and it turned out better than I expected so I started thinking, is this is a hidden skill I didn’t even know I had?! I even made Mr Quirky a Marshmallow Man (from Ghostbusters) keyring for his birthday one year!
I decided to have a bit more fun with it, buying more and more packs so I could create whimsy kawaii creatures, funky trees, I tried to create myself, my boy, anything I wanted, it became a form of therapy, it’s calming and relaxing. I even tried creating my parents to give them as a gift, I made them in a sitting position so they could sit on the end of a plant pot or something. They don’t look exactly like them obviously, they are caricatures, but it’s based on them!
I haven’t played with clay much in the last year, but a month or so ago, my sister asked me if I could create a cake topper for my brother-in-law’s 40th birthday. She asked if I could incorporate them as a family, my sister, her husband and their two little daughters. They live on a farm and initially the plan was for them to sit on hay bales, but then we decided that a patchwork picnic blanket was more their scene as they often go on picnics and it would give a base for the characters. I thought giving the girls cow print dresses was a cute nod to the dairy farm they own and run. What I didn’t realise at the time was that my sister’s plan was to make a cow print cake for the topper to sit on…great minds eh?! I had to create them gradually, this was by far the biggest project I had worked on and there was more pressure than before as I wanted to get it right. I have documented some of the process in pictures, I’ll add them here.
And here’s the end result, I was asked at the last minute if I could add a Tregroes Waffle and a bottle of tomato sauce, as my brother-in-law is a big fan of both. I was pretty proud of myself, it’s not perfect, I’m sure art and clay experts could do a much better job using better tools etc but I don’t think this is too bad considering I’m quite an amateur when it comes to this stuff!
There are loads of different sets you can buy if you fancy giving air dry clay a go yourself. It’s not just for children, it’s something us grown-ups can enjoy playing with too. Life is stressful enough, and this is something you can work with in a relaxing way in front of the tv if you want to, as long as you have a tray of some sort to work on. It does dry quickly so make sure you keep things sealed. I personally prefer the pots as they keep everything as they should do, but if you want to buy the packs (you do get more for your money) make sure you store them in an air-tight container so that they don’t dry out. I like looking for sets that have peach, brown, black and white colours in the mix as they are the ones I use most. But it depends what kind of things you want to create so buy a pack and see where your imagination takes you!
You can also get little sets that show you what you should create and it has the colours you need in the kit to create that animal or creature etc. This might be a good starting point and they certainly would make fabulous stocking fillers for you know when!
If you do end up giving this a go, please do send me pics or videos of your creations, I’d love to see them!
This is a brand appreciation post. I just love OTOTO, they encompass everything I love about a product in their designs, they are practical and novelty in a funky, quirky way. Over the last few years, we have started quite a collection of OTOTO gadgets in our house, the kitchen in particular, Mr Quirky has given me some as gifts and I have for him too. We haven’t doubled up yet, but this is a cool brand I will keep revisiting when gift-buying, they are amazing!
Let’s start with a new one, the Croc Chop, I haven’t got this, but I want it! In fact I will add it to my non-shop shop when I get a chance so I can add to my Wishlist! I have a problem with my fingers, hands and wrists, they are very weak and can be painful if I do something too strenuous with them such as peeling and chopping certain vegetables, this vegetable chopper would make life so much easier for me. I absolutely love cooking, but my issues make it hard for me to do exactly what I want to cook sometimes, this crocodile-shaped gadget would be a game-changer for me! I love the shape, the use of the croc’s teeth as the chomper, I mean chopper…genius!
Croc Chop Vegetable Chopper and Slicer
A gadget we all need in our homes or picnic baskets at some point…the trusty bottle opener / corkscrew! Now, why would anyone want to get a plain one when you can get a bat or a parrot?! These are both cool in their own ways, the bat “Vino” is dark and mysterious, and the Parrot “Pinot” is bright and colourful, complete opposites but they lend themselves to this kind of design amazingly! Which one are you drawn to?
Vino the Bat Corkscrew and Bottle Opener
Pinot the Parrot Corkscrew and Bottle Opener
Next up are these super unique cooking aide, they are spoon rests that double up as lid holders / steam releasers too. There are three designs, I already have Agatha the witch, she helps me make my potions and encourages my cackling whilst I cook! You can also get Buddy the adorable dog (which you can get in a set of one or set of two), or Red the funky crab! They are so different!
Agatha the Witch Spoon Rest / Lid Holder
Buddy the Dog Spoon Rest / Lid Holder
Red the Crab Spoon Rest / Lid Holder
If you know a keen baker who likes to get quirky in the kitchen, this gorgeous cherries measuring spoon set is the perfect gift for them. Even the leaf is a handy egg separator! It’s vibrant and just really cool, I don’t even bake but I want one!
Cherries Measuring Spoon Set
Let’s talk about one of my favourite cooking ingredients, garlic! I add garlic to most things, either from fresh, puree or granules, sometimes I even add a cheeky combination of all for extra flavour! We love garlic so much in this house, I bought this Gracula (Dracula) Garlic crusher for Mr Quirky for Christmas and it does not disappoint. It’s so easy to use and clean. It doesn’t take much effort to crush and press at all, and you can crush the garlic to the consistency you prefer! It was a very good purchase and I highly recommend it! I found a couple of other OTOTO garlic gadgets too, the Rockula matches the Gracula with the same Dracula head, but it’s on a rocking grater which allows you to rock and crush the garlic or grate it. I also found the Garligator which I think is a fabulous name, this alligator shaped tool works much in the same way as a standard garlic crusher, and it squeezes out like a mince or puree, it’s just way cooler than the standard one obviously!
Gracula Dracula Garlic Crusher
Rockula Dracula Garlic Crusher
Garligator Alligator Garlic Press
I do believe every kitchen should have a pair of scissors, they are useful for so many things and at least if they are your kitchen scissors, you know they are cleaned regularly for all different types of food prep. I genuinely love this Elizabat bat-shaped scissors, it’s such a perfect design. It’s ergonomically designed to fit in your hand and it does look more comfortable to use than other scissors. This is going on my Wishlist!
Elizabat Bat Kitchen Scissors
This post is a work in progress but it is too cool to keep hidden so I’ll just add “to be continued” here until I’ve got everything on….!
I just found a listing that was oozing with classy quirkiness, and I had to create a quick post to share them with you. Do you like your coasters? Even if you’re not really that bothered, you still find them useful, I do anyway, they protect my surfaces from stains! But what if these useful things can be used as an extra piece of decor, something interesting to look at that actually has a purpose, a use? I do love my practical quirky bits and bobs! I think all of these would make excellent gifts, they’re so unique.
This was the first set that caught my eye, it’s fabulous! Who wouldn’t want a rocking chair for their coasters? I love it, I can imagine it sitting there quite comfortably on the mantelpiece!
A clever use of the shape of a tortoise’ shell with this set, perfectly designed. These make me think of Summer and holidays for some reason, cute set!
After the rocking chair, this might be my next favourite. Such a sweet little hut, a lovely little home for your coasters.
When I see apples, I automatically think of teachers! Wouldn’t this look great on a teacher’s desk? A thank you gift perhaps? It is a gorgeous design, whether it sits on a desk or next to the fruit basket in the kitchen, it’s hard not to like it!
Now this is a fancy one! I have never seen a lotus flower coaster holder before, stunning design, gorgeous shape. It’s not over the top quirky but it’s definitely unique.
This elephants set is the type of coaster set that would look perfect as part of a hamper, maybe with a couple of mugs, teabags and biscuits! Some people are obsessed with elephants so this could make a sweet gift for them.
This last one is just fabulous, what a great little boat! Amazing design, love the shape, love the ropes around the edges. I can just imagine it in a coastal property.
Just a quick showcase for you today as I wanted to show them all to you. I hope you like them as much as I do.
As you get older, the number of gifts you get decreases, massively! Which is why it is so important to make the gift you give stand out from the crowd. As a gift recipient, I much prefer (obviously!) for them to be different to the norm. Most people buy what they want when they want them these days, so buying normal-looking things will more often than not make them forgettable.
Take this candle holder as an example. My sister gave me this a few years ago for Christmas and I adore it. It is so kooky, explodes with character, and best of all, it is so me! Now I have had many candle holders as gifts in the past and although I keep most of them hidden away in the candle cupboard for emergencies (yes, I am a bit of a hoarder!), I can’t remember who gave them to me or for what occasion. But this quirky and cute little witchy-looking cottage has pride of place in our living room. It will never be hidden away, and I will always remember who gave it to me.
I know that it was purchased at the Bath Christmas Market, but that’s as much intel as I can give you regarding where to get this exact one. It seems hand-crafted to me too so may well be a one-off, which again makes it more special to me.
There are two things to bear in mind when choosing a gift for someone. Make sure it’s something they will actually like and that it suits their personality, and secondly, make sure it’s something you like too. Fruit baskets wouldn’t be something you’d necessarily think of to give as a gift, but when it’s quirkilly shaped as an Owl, it can be a much appreciated fun and practical gift! This was one of my Christmas gifts from Mr Quirky and I think it is so cool, in all honesty though it has probably held more chocolates and biscuits than fruit! We both love forest friends’ themed items so it fits well in our kitchen. He bought it off Amazon and the cheapest I can find is £9.99.
This fruit basket shows that quirky doesn’t have to be crazy, over-the-top flamboyant, quirky can be classy, quirky can be in-keeping with a more subtle environment too. I just think that if you’re going to give a gift, make it count, make it a gift to remember, you might as well make it a little bit quirky!
So, as this is a brand spanking new blog, I think it’s important that you get to know what kind of quirky makes me tick!
I am not a materialistic person as such, but if I must have something, it needs to be special and worthy of being owned by me! Christmas 2017 I was given one of my most prized possession by Mr Quirky, a Vendula Londonhandbag.
The one I’ve got isn’t even listed anymore, but I have this stunning purple book store bag. They still have a coffee version. It is gorgeous, so unique and I love it. I’m almost too afraid to use it because I don’t want to ruin it or hurt it in any way! I have always loved the Book Store one, I love books, my second choice would have been the Toy Shop, so cool.
Such gorgeous and quirky detailing, I love my Vendula London handbag.
There are so many new styles on the website now, I can’t believe how they come up with such funky designs, they’ve even got a red Post Box bag and a Tiki Bar! The Chocolatier and The Sewing Shop are amazing too.
They do purses, wallets and make-up bags as well as bags in different shapes and sizes. This website makes me smile every time I have a look. It is quite possibly one of my favourite websites to visit, and I am so incredibly happy that I have my very own bag to adore at home too.
