VQ retro radio giveaway

I have a new friend and it follows me around the house wherever I go. And I love it.

I’ve always had a thing about radio; listening to the dulcet tones of Radio 4 in the morning and whilst I work or playing music whilst I cook in the evenings. I also love listening to podcasts, especially on Sunday afternoons or as I sew. My new VQ digital retro radio is perfect for all these things and more. It can run on batteries so I can carry it around with me from room to room (or you can plug it in) and I can also pull out the iPod dock and hook it up to my phone and play music from Spotify, which works perfectly when we have friends round. You can even connect it to your computer and the sound quality is great. Most importantly (obvs!), I think it looks great and the leatherette finish is really high quality. I really, really love it.

View Quest retro radio giveaway | Apartment Apothecary

I love the retro styling and it works perfectly on my G-plan sideboard.

View Quest retro radio giveaway | Apartment Apothecary

The stylish leatherette finish is beautiful (I couldn’t tell it wasn’t real leather).

View Quest retro radio giveaway | Apartment Apothecary

I hate working in silence so this radio is perfect for my home office.

View Quest retro radio giveaway | Apartment Apothecary

You can plug the radio in or run it off batteries.

View Quest retro radio giveaway | Apartment Apothecary

This is where my radio spends most of its time – is there anything better than blasting music and having a dance whilst cooking?!

The lovely folks over at VQ are offering one of my readers a retro radio, worth £79.99, in a colour or pattern of your choice – see them all here. Wouldn’t it make a perfect Christmas present, too?

To enter the giveaway, which ends at midnight on Monday 7th December, all you have to do is complete the Rafflecopter below. We would love you to either leave a comment on this post, follow VQ on Pinterest here or pin your favourite radio from the VQ site here (or do all three to get extra entries).

Good luck and I will be back on the December 8th to announce the winner! Fingers crossed x

And the winner is…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Jules (I promise it’s not my partner!!). Pop me an email at katy@18.200.196.112 to claim your prize in time for Christmas! Thank you to everyone who entered and watch out for another amazing giveaway launching here tomorrow. x

 

T&Cs

– Giveaway open from Tuesday 1st December to midnight Monday 7th December 2015.

– Giveaway open to mainland UK only.

– Winner will receive one retro radio in a colour or pattern of their choice.

– Winner will be picked at random using Rafflecopter generator.

 

Eclectic homewares

When we ripped up our carpets last year that had been destroyed by Otto as a puppy (I lost count of the number of times I found myself on my knees scrubbing that carpet clean) I was really excited about choosing a rug once we had painted the floor. I have always been really keen on unique one-off rugs and I trawled through the internet looking for something a bit different that would soften the edges of a hard, stark floor. Ever since I have always had one eye on picking up more unique pieces to add to the eclectic style we have in our flat. Liking a lot of white, as I do, it is also a really good way of adding a few bursts of colours and/or texture to a room.

I know it can be tough to find the time to wade through sites looking for one-off homewares and I remember at the time I bought my rug, which I got shipped from Turkey, lots of people asked me where they could buy one from. Therefore, I have put together a little collection of some of my favourite pieces from some great shops that have done all the hard work for you and sourced these beautiful pieces from around the world…

1. Fair-trade Ghanaian Bolga basket, Potch. 2. Kantha gown, Toast 3. Beni Ourain rug, Maud Interiors 4. Kilim Pouf, Maud Interiors 5. Injiri-Khadi cushion cover, Addition Store 6. Moroccan leather slippers, Decorator’s Notebook 7. Aonla rug, Urbanara 8. Moroccan pom pom blanket, Maud Interiors.

You know I love a basket or three and I picked up one of the Ghanaian baskets in Brixton market the other day and it’s perfect for winter blankets or magazines next to the sofa. The gorgeous pouf from Maud Interiors is not only a handy extra seat or ottoman but there is something so warm and welcoming about the colours and pattern of kilim textiles (and they hide sneaky red wine spillages a treat!). I have been lusting after a Moroccan pom pom blankets for too long and I think it could be a real showstopper in any room. Add to that the Moroccan leather slippers (perfect gift for any man this Xmas) and the delicious kantha gown made from recycled Indian saris, what more could you need? Well, maybe that beautiful vintage Beni Ourain rug – swoon!

Photograph of my sitting room by Katharine Peachey.

I hope you like some of my choices. Do explore the shops I have picked out because they all have some really beautiful, unique pieces that you won’t see anywhere else. Don’t be afraid to mix and match in your home – I wrote a post last year about combining different styles so take a look for a bit of inspiration and guidance.

Katy x

 

*This post was written in collaboration with Maud Interiors.

 

Shop what i love

Let me tell you a bit more about how you can buy homewares and gifts directly from my blog. I am always asked where bits and pieces in my home are from either here or on Instagram; no one has the time to trawl through shop after shop and some people don’t even like shopping (ha – if only that were true of me!). To help solve this problem I have brought together a collection of items from some of my favourite shops that you can buy right here, without the need to head off to several different shop sites. You can see the full collection here (and in future, remember there is a shop category in my blog header on the far right hand side).

I have lots of the items myself or they are on my wish list, so if you like my home there’s a good chance you’ll like the items too. Here are a few examples from my bedroom and home office (if you like any of the items just click on them to view more details and then you can add them to your basket right here)…

Shop what I love | Bedroom | Vintage bedside table | Apartment Apothecary
Shot what i love

Shop what I love | Bedroom | Vintage bedside table | Apartment Apothecary Shot what i love

 

Shop what I love | Home office | Workspace | Apartment Apothecary

Shot what i love

After a few busy weeks I finally have a bit of time to sit down and start thinking ahead…to Christmas! I unashamedly love this time of year and the sooner we get celebrating the better in my book. I would love to do lots of lovely crafty bits in the lead up, a few decorations and some homemade gifts – hopefully it will give you all a bit of inspiration.

Another thing I would like to do, to take a bit of pressure off you, is add lots more products to my ‘shop‘ that will be perfect for Christmas presents so make sure you check back and watch out for my weekly gift guides that will pop up from next week. And if you’re not keen on Christmas or presents, why not just treat yourself?!

Katy x

 

A good night’s sleep: a mattress review

I have always wanted to be a better sleeper; I don’t have a problem getting to sleep but staying asleep is another matter. I have never, ever (not even as a teenager) had a proper lie-in because come 7am and I am pretty much awake, no matter what (and make that 6am if I have had a few drinks the night before – so unfair!). A few years ago I also had to have a couple of hip operations and all my joints are a bit out of whack so pain can disturb my sleep and the amount I get can also have an effect on my pain levels.

Over time I have learnt that the temperature of my room, the amount of light and the quality of my duvet, pillows and bedlinen are very important to the amount of sleep I get. We sleep with our balcony door open every night, I spent a hideous amount of money on properly lined curtains and I’m pretty sure that you have caught on by now that I’m keen on the best quality bed linen! However, when I bought our current flat nearly six years ago I scrimped on a fairly cheap mattress, far keener to spend money on more aesthetically pleasing things. After a while it became clear that it was a false economy and so I had to buy an expensive memory foam topper, which has done us well until now.

When Leesa got in touch asking us to review their ‘one size fits all’ mattress I didn’t hesitate. Leesa is an American company that launched here in July. They offer just one mattress design in varying sizes (at an affordable price from £390) which totally removes the stress of choosing an important purchase based on lying on it self consciously in the store for five minutes. In fact, Leesa offer a 100-night risk free trial to all customers for the very reason that it is simply impossible to tell whether a mattress is right for you after such a short time. Here’s how we (including Otto – obvs) got on with our mattress…

Foam mattress review with Leesa | Golden Retriever on bed | White bedroom with blush pink accents | Apartment Apothecary

The mattress arrives in a small hassle-free box. Ours arrived just before we were lending our flat to friends for the weekend so we didn’t open it and left it in the corner and they didn’t even notice it. Once I opened the vacuum packed mattress it takes a few seconds to start filling up with air and it says on the box to leave it for an hour before it feels good. Back I came after an hour and obviously Otto had already made himself at home!

Foam mattress review with Leesa | Golden Retriever on bed | White bedroom with blush pink accents | Apartment Apothecary

The mattress cover is lovely and soft and then there is a 5cm foam top layer, a 5cm memory foam middle layer and then a 12cm dense core support foam bottom layer. I was a little worried that all this foam would envelop me and I would feel like I couldn’t move around in the night, which I do a lot. However, it is surprisingly springy and I can move around with ease, not leaving an imprint. The dense foam layer is supportive and firm at its core.

Once I had got the dog off (he sits at the foot of the bed with his chin planted on the mattress to ask to come up) and I could make the bed it was very exciting to try it for the first time.

Foam mattress review with Leesa | Golden Retriever on bed | White bedroom with blush pink accents | Apartment Apothecary

I have to admit that I immediately had a two hour nap once the hour we had to wait for the mattress to grow to size was up as it makes the bed so cosy and soft.

Foam mattress review with Leesa | Golden Retriever on bed | White bedroom with blush pink accents | Apartment Apothecary

Having slept on the mattress for the last couple of weeks I am getting more and more used to it. Leesa say to give it 30 days before making up your mind about it as I think it is quite an adjustment from your standard sprung mattress. They also give the guarantee – ‘if you’re not sleeping better on a Leesa within 100 nights, we can donate your mattress to a local charity and provide a full refund’. You can’t argue with that.

Foam mattress review with Leesa | Golden Retriever on bed | White bedroom with blush pink accents | Apartment Apothecary

I slept really well last night and now the mornings are so much darker I made it to 8am. Jules really likes the mattress and it absorbs his movement much more than a sprung mattress, which is another bonus. As for Otto, he can not get enough of it.

What do you do to get a good night’s sleep?

Katy x

P.S. Leesa is kindly offering my readers £50 off their mattress – just use the code APARTMENTAPOTHECARY50.

*This post was written in collaboration with Leesa.

 

Personalised accessories with Zazzle

I have to be honest that when I see a ‘personalised’ category in an online shop I cringe a bit; it’s never been my cup of tea. However, I have to eat a big slice of humble pie and tell you that I have changed my mind. I was sent a package of items from Zazzle, specialists in creating personalised accessories, homewares, gifts and even fabric and I enjoyed every part of the ordering process. The main turning point for me was that I was in control of the personalisation and I could tailor the products exactly to my tastes and needs: you can upload your own photographs, designs, graphics, fonts and have these printed on stationery, ceramics, fabric – the possibilities are endless.

It took me ages to decide what I wanted as there are so many choices and if I was a bit more creative I really could have had a field day; imagine designing your own fabric! However, you don’t need to be creative at all because as well as designing your own products you can order designs made by others. In the end I chose some cards, a tote bag and some fabric monogrammes.

I am honestly in LOVE with the Christmas cards that I made using a photograph of Otto that I took last Christmas; never have I been so excited to open a parcel! I chose the square cards so that I could use an Instagram photograph. The matte effect looks and feels really high quality – I can not wait to give these to family and friends.

I also chose this pretty monogramme design on cotton that I personalised with a ‘K’. I can appliqué these onto sewing projects and the quality of the print and colours is excellent.

Personalised monogram for sewing projects from Zazzle | Sewing labels | Apartment Apothecary

I couldn’t resist getting a personalised tote bag with my blog logo 😉 The tote itself is a great size and is made of thick, strong cotton. The one thing I would say is that when you upload a graphic to personalise off-white fabric make sure you take into account the colour of the fabric – I should have made my logo background brighter to offset the natural colour of the canvas.

And just one more pic of Otto cards as I couldn’t resist!

Personalised Christmas cards with Zazzle | Golden Retriever puppy | Apartment Apothecary

I’d love to get some personalised postcards and gift tags for Christmas and there are so many fabric designs that I want – isn’t this one beautiful? It would be amazing on linen for a summer project.

What do you think of personalised items? Pop over to Zazzle and have a play – you may change your mind, too. If you’re quick, there’s 20% off every order that ends today!

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with Zazzle.