In this blog, we discuss the reasons why you should pursue a career in accounting and the steps you need to take to become an experienced accountant.
Despite its abundance of opportunities, best aat accounting training can appear to be a challenging field to enter. How much time does it take to become an accountant? And when you become one, what advantages can you anticipate?
This blog looks at the reasons why you should think about becoming an accountant and the steps you need to take to get there.
Choose Your Path Before
beginning your search for a career in accounting, you should decide which level of education is best for you. There are many options, with ACCA and CIMA being two of the most well-known.
The ACCA is widely recognized. It is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing accounting degrees. If you think you might like to work in a variety of roles, the ACCA certification is a great option.
The ACCA qualification can help you get work in public or private accounting. Alternately, you could start your own accounting firm.
People who want to work as management accountants will do best with the CIMA certification. In particular, pursuing a CIMA certification might be your best option if you want to work for a company.
Know Your Exemptions
The ACCA and CIMA want to give you credit for your previous knowledge and abilities. By allowing you to skip portions of the exams, knowing if you are eligible for exemptions and which ones to look for will help you study more efficiently.
As a result, you will be able to begin your job search and obtain certification more quickly.
Exemptions from the ACCA : The ACCA may grant exemptions to nine Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills exams and Foundation level qualifications. Unfortunately, you will not be eligible for a work-related exemption.
Before claiming an exemption, you should carefully consider your eligibility. After all, the information you acquire through study can assist you in passing the more difficult tests that lie ahead of you.
It might be in your best interest to study for that portion of the test regardless of whether you qualify for an exemption or not.
CIMA Exemptions : You may be exempt from taking the CIMA exams if you have a degree or other qualifications. You can look through a database on their website to see if you qualify.
The majority of qualifications are based on your degree. However, if you are a member of ICMAP or possess another relevant qualification, you may also be eligible for an exemption.
Studying online can help you pass your professional accounting exams. Let’s collaborate to get you qualified quickly!
Select a Program
Prior to beginning your exam preparation, you will need to select a program. You will have a lot of choices, whether you want an online program or a traditional learning environment.
Think about how adaptable your learning needs to be. An online study program might be best for you if you need to study on your own time or have an unpredictable schedule. However, you can benefit from live discussions and social interactions if you are able to attend class on time.
Garden rooms, wooden conservatories, and orangeries; Each of these three distinct kinds of extensions has its own unique characteristics. We’ve made it easy with our expert guide because we know that knowing which one is right for your home can be difficult.
We are frequently asked to explain the distinction between an orangery and a conservatory. By creating a bright and airy interior and establishing a coherent connection between your house and your garden, a glazed extension instantly transforms the space you live in and brings the outside inside.
However, what distinguishes an orangery from a garden room and what distinguishes a conservatory from an orangery? How can you determine which is best for your house? Basically they can be in every way classed as ‘garden room augmentations’, yet they are at last characterized by the extents of coating, lumber, and workmanship materials utilized in the building plan.
Let’s go over the various kinds of extensions in greater detail: what exactly is a conservatory
During the 1980s, conservatories were a very common type of glazed extension. They are usually made of uPVC and rattan furniture, and their walls and roof are usually made of glass and set on a brick foundation. The idea of easily adding more space to their homes, which could be used as a bright, spacious formal lounge or dining room with close-up views of their gardens, was welcomed by homeowners.
A conservatory’s extensive space can be filled with as much natural light as possible because it is mostly made of glass. Unfortunately, traditional conservatories have developed a bad reputation for being cold in the winter and hot and stuffy in the summer.
Additionally, the uPVC had a propensity to age and turn yellow; not exactly an appealing appearance. Conservatories started to go out of style as people realized that their expensive investments could only be used for half the year when the weather was nice.
This is regrettable because a high-quality conservatory made of wood can be a beautiful addition to any home. Underfloor heating, solar control glazing, and roof vents that help to improve circulation, as well as solar control glazing that limits the amount of heat coming in from the sun, are all solutions to the common temperature issues.
What is an orangery or orangerie
Orangeries were a symbol of wealth and prestige among the elite in the 17th century. Traditionally, orangeries were used to shield imported citrus plants from the harsh British winters. With their elegant architectural lines and timeless style, the aristocracy thought these beautiful rooms gave their mansions a sense of splendor and opulence.
Since the conservatory has become less popular, more and more people are choosing modern garden rooms and orangeries with timber frames. A garden room or orangery extension is still the pinnacle of luxury and exudes an air of opulent elegance because it combines perfectly balanced design with flawless functionality.
No matter how many times you’ve moved, there are always challenges to overcome. With experience, it might become easier to manage, but there are many obstacles to overcome. Which plastic storage boxes storage unit to rent, which size moving truck to buy, how many cartons or containers to buy, and how to pack fragile items are just a few examples.
We will concentrate on one aspect: how to select the appropriate size of moving truck. The truck must be packed correctly to avoid damage and accidents. If you choose a truck that is either too big or too small, you could run into a lot of problems. It might put everything you packed inside in danger.
The right-sized truck will make your move easier on your budget and more accessible if you consider its proper functionality. A larger truck is more expensive to rent than a smaller one, so you should also think about your budget. Read on for all the information you need to choose the right size truck for your move.
Bedroom Count Technique
The bedroom count technique is one of the most common methods for determining the appropriate moving truck size. A chart that you can use to see how many bedrooms a moving truck can hold is provided by many moving and storage companies that offer moving services. It’s a fairly simple method!
When deciding where to start, these size estimation charts are helpful. Be that as it may, they are vague assessments, not altogether exact. Some bedrooms are larger and can hold the same amount of furniture and other items as two or three smaller bedrooms.
Additionally, there are a lot of rooms in homes that don’t fit into standard room sizes, such as studios, sitting rooms, work offices, storage rooms, mud closets, and studios. They might not be the right size for the chart, but you can get a general idea of how many people each room can hold. Using the bedroom count method, count the final number of bedrooms to easily select the appropriate moving truck size for your needs.
Determine the Truck’s Cubic Feet
Each moving truck is made to carry a certain number of items, which are typically measured in cubic feet. The dimensions of the vehicle’s interior range from the roof’s size to the total area of the floor. You can stack and distribute all of your boxes evenly, according to their weight and length, to make good use of it.
However, you might need the entire floor as opposed to the length from the floor of the truck to the ceiling, which might be more practical for you. One way or the other, except if you are moving and pressing specialists, you will require help to productively occupy the whole room. Therefore, if some items require more space than anticipated, selecting a truck that is slightly larger than your requirements is safer and preferable.
Keep in mind that this method is more accurate and reliable than the bedroom count method. Calculating the dimensions and placing the boxes in the truck in the right order might take more time. Nevertheless, it counts the total cubic space of everything you intend to store in the vehicle, which is more consistent.
Rather than measuring each item individually, pack all of your small and loose items in boxes and measure the size of the parcels. It won’t take much time and will provide a more accurate estimate of size. The total size will be approximately equivalent to the truck’s available space.
With stay-at-home requests lifted the country over, and before summer closes, families are making summer get-away arrangements. Prior to getting together the vehicle and going out to the lake or the forest, it’s brilliant to consider ways of making your home safer. There are a few straightforward and modest things that you can do now which can immeasurably work on your possibilities getting back home to find your home simply the manner in which you left it.
Activity Locksmith Sutton Coldfield has a few hints that can serve you over time, in any event, when you are not holiday.
Try not to report your get-away anticipates virtual entertainment. While your loved ones by and large aren’t a hotspot for concern, you don’t know companions of companions and other people who might approach your web-based entertainment posts. To be protected, save your get-away plans and excursion pictures for posting when you get back.
Secure your entryways and windows
Continuously take your home key off your key chain while valet leaving your vehicle, as an educated hoodlum can make a key to your home by just snapping a photo of your home key.1 Likewise ensure that you briefly eliminate that extra key you have concealed under the mat or a close by rock. On the off chance that you have sliding glass entryways, the most straightforward thing to do is to placed a stick or thick wood dowel in the base track of the sliding entryway. You can purchase slide-locking bars on the web.
You can likewise sustain the entryway by changing out the first entryway locking component with a business locking item that includes a couple of bolt locking framework that connects to the locking point of the entryway and has steel bolts that safe the way to the frame.2 Window stops, which keep windows from opening more than a few inches, are likewise smart. This is a somewhat reasonable item that can be seen as on the web.
Scene to safeguard your home
It is generally smart, regardless of the time, to ensure that shrubberies and trees don’t conceal your windows, entryways and other passageways to your home. Congested hedges can permit thieves a spot to stow away while getting to your home and discourage your neighbors from seeing a break-in. Certain individuals decide to establish prickly shrubberies under window passages as a hindrance. Scene lighting and movement actuated lighting are additionally wise ventures with regards to ruining would-be hoodlums. 3
Managing skin inflammation can appear to be a daunting struggle you won’t ever win. Certain individuals battle with skin inflammation breakouts more than others, yet the something normal among a great many people is they need to dispose of it anyway conceivable.
Over-the-counter treatments might be powerful for minor cases, yet those actually are never an assurance. A typical misguided judgment is you must have extreme skin break out scarring to fit the bill for an expert skin inflammation scar correction treatment.
That is basically not the situation, since laser hair removal in birmingham skin inflammation scar treatments can assist with even minor skin break out scars. Here are a portion of the circumstances where you ought to think about an expert treatment.
Forestall OR Change Skin break out SCARRING
Some skin inflammation is bound to make scars than others. With laser skin break out scar treatments, you can forestall skin break out scars from happening in any case by killing microorganisms around the impacted region, which could prompt more skin break out breakouts.
Yet, on the off chance that you’ve proactively experienced scarring of any seriousness, the most effective way to reexamine them is by looking for a treatment from a respectable clinical expert.
Skin inflammation is adequately troublesome to manage all alone, however when it prompts scarring, it’s not difficult to turn out to be much more reluctant. In the event that you want to conceal your skin or not associate however much you used to on the grounds that you’re humiliated in your own skin, then now is the ideal time to look for proficient laser skin break out scar treatments.
The treatments can be finished in less than 60 minutes, generally speaking, and results should be visible in just multi week. Nobody ought to must be hesitant in their skin, and an expert skin inflammation update treatment is your most ideal choice to guarantee you feel more sure with your skin.
While CONTROLLING Skin inflammation BREAKOUTS BECOME Incomprehensible
Skin inflammation breakouts can now and again happen at the absolute worst minutes. Once in a while an expert compound strip for skin inflammation could be a possibility for controlling these breakouts.
Contingent upon the guidance from your clinical expert, attempting a substance strip for skin break out could be the principal proficient treatment to attempt prior to going through laser treatments.
There are substance strips you can buy over-the-counter, yet not exclusively are these generally insufficient, they could be perilous on the off chance that not managed accurately by an expert with broad experience.
I am a believer in making room in our home for serendipitous discoveries. If you keep your eyes and heart open, you never know when you’ll unexpectedly find something more wonderful than you could have planned.
A home should tell our stories. And what better way to add character to a home than to furnish it with serendipitous discoveries?
Today I will share my thoughts on furnishing our home and the tale of unexpectedly discovering my dream bed on Facebook marketplace just a few days ago!
You might recall that I had recently posted about a little spring refresh of our bedroom. In that post I said I was still looking for a new light fixture but other than that I didn’t really have any other immediate plans for updating our room.
Well, things have taken an unexpected but exciting turn. Not only did a find a new light fixture but thanks to a mood board I made and a serendipitous discovery on Facebook Marketplace, I brought a new to me coastal dream bed to our home and now I can’t wait to have it in our little bedroom overlooking the Salish Sea. It was meant to be.
Our Plan for Furniture
In my post about our spring mantel and our thrift store pheasants, I mentioned that I was now open to the possibility of being on the hunt for “new to me” furniture. In downsizing to move here we gave away a lot of furniture! This is a smaller home so not everything we had fit and I didn’t want to feel overwhelmed trying to make decisions right away.
There is no rush. We are happy with our home and I’m always content to use what we have. And I’m still working through trying to pare down and get rid of things we don’t need here! It’s been a process. We bought a few accent chairs here and there to fill out spaces but I decided that if anything we truly love comes along (and on our budget), we’ll happily swap anything else out. That slow process will help us continue to enjoy making this home our own without any pressure or timeline.
But now that our renovation is over, I feel a little more “ready” to begin looking around more and even scrolling FB Marketplace now and then, just in case. It actually seemed like fun to just look so I began looking at FB Marketplace and found a new little console table with a marble top and a darling chair. Those finds ignited my creativity and renewed my excitement over the thrill of the hunt! I will share those pieces in a future post.
So I guess my plan for furnishing our living room was simply to be open to serendipitous discoveries! I have taught my HomeBody Gathering Place decorating community about the value in developing their sense of serendipity as well as how to bring a collected style together to it feels cohesive.
It really is fun to have a home that tells a story! The stories of how our home came together is what helps create a sense of sanctuary. I did originally think that if I bought anything it would be for the living room! Well, that’s what I get for trying to plan! 🙂 Being open to whatever you find can make the stories of your home even more interesting! You don’t know what you’ll find or when. And when you discover something you really love, it feels like it was meant to be so I’ll happily adjust any plans.
How Creating A Mood Board Led to My Dream Bed
In HomeBody Gathering Place last week we taught how (and why!) to make a mood board. There are SO many reasons I think a mood board can be very useful in home decorating and renovations, but one reason is that they can help you to better visualize and define your own style. That really is important to creating a home you will love.
Over the weekend I was inspired to make a mood board for our bedroom. Now mind you, I wasn’t intending to buy furniture for the bedroom, I just wanted to visualize my style as whole. I wanted to visualize all of the rooms to create our style.
A mood board doesn’t have to turn into a shopping list (although that is another useful reason to make one), it can be just for inspiration!
One decorating principle I teach in the HGP is to start by making a dream board first, and then a reality board can come next. I find creating a dream board to be quite inspiring as it can encourage you to get out of a design rut or save you from always playing it safe instead of listening to your heart is telling you.
Once you can visualize your dream style, you can still incorporate what you already have but also elements of your dream into your reality.
So that’s what I did. I let myself dream a little! The first thing I put on my board besides a couple of pieces I had was an image of a bed I’ve loved for years. It’s classic, but also feels so whimsical, which I think truly is my style at heart.
I looked at all the colors the bed came in and loved them all, but I landed on robin’s egg blue. This bed has always reminded me of waves at sea and what better color for it than my favorite shade of blue?
The bed was only a dream for me, but it represented something significant about my style. An unexpected bit of whimsy is something I always crave in a home. Even if it’s just in one element, the lightheartedness and unpretentiousness of a whimsical style makes it feel like home to me.
The Serendipitous Discovery – In Another Country!
While there seemed to be no chance of me getting that bed, I reminded myself that if you are really going to be open to serendipitous discoveries, you cannot close off the possibilities before you even start. Don’t pre-determine what you’ll find or decide in advance what is or is not possible. If something speaks to your heart, listen!
So even though it seemed to me to be the most unlikely thing to find on Facebook Marketplace (especially when you don’t live in a big city) I thought I might as well look. Why not? I wasn’t in a hurry or expecting to find this bed. But even if I never found it, maybe I’d find something else that would be of a similar style or mood. There was no hurry or expectations.
This is what I love about creating a home over time. Any pressure of immediate gratification is off when the thrill of the hunt is ON! You never know when the discovery will be made.
Minutes after placing the robin’s egg blue bed on my dream board, I opened FMP and typed in the name of the bed. As I said I really didn’t expect to find it. But I immediately did a double take. Much to my surprise, there it was. My dream bed! Some people call that a “God sighting” — it really did feel like a gift was sitting right there waiting for me.
But that’s also when I went into panic mode. The price was a fraction of the cost of a new bed and no sales taxes, no shipping, so it was a no brainer…but …. there were other roadblocks. We don’t own a truck. And also, this bed was across the border in Canada. It was late Saturday night. We didn’t have any Canadian cash and no banks were open. So many questions but I decided to at least message her.
I didn’t hear back.
I couldn’t sleep a wink all night. That’s when I knew. If this bed made my heart flutter this much, there was no doubt it was meant to be. I didn’t want to accidentally miss a return message so I checked my phone really early in the morning. At 5:30 AM, she asked when we could come get it.
By 10AM we had rented a Uhaul utility truck and were on our way to the border. It turned into a much longer story — involving finding no cash machines open on Sundays, not having the right tool to take the bed apart, our phones did not work while we were in Canada and many other challenges — but we didn’t give up!
By 6PM Sunday night, my dream bed was in our home.
Dare to dream friends! You never know what might happen. 🙂 I had to use the funds I had set aside for something in the living room, but I can’t imagine a piece of living room furniture I’d love more than my new bed. Right before we found the bed and the day after my last update post on the bedroom, I bought the new light fixture so I guess I’ll be working on the bedroom now :). That’s how you create a collected home over time, it just might turn into an unexpected adventure!
Of course, I also really loved the bed I had (this cane bed) but GOOD NEWS all around my daughter Courtney and her husband wanted a new bed, and now I just happen to have a lovely one to pass along to them. Win win!
[unpaid/samples] I first came across L’Era when they got in touch last year – it’s a new, mother & daughter founded jewellery brand whose point of difference is using gold plating that’s ten times thicker than usual vermeil. One of the things I said at the time was that I wear my jewellery – I don’t take it off for baths, showers, sleeping or well, anything really. If you know vermeil, you’ll know it has a tendency to wear off really quickly and before you know it you are suddenly wearing a silver bracelet or necklace.
.L’Era Jewellery – New Designs
They also use lab grown diamonds to create tiny pendants like the one above. It keeps costs down but it looks as spectacular as the real thing. I like fine (as in delicate and small) jewellery – my Indian rings are a recent passion and up until I had those, I was all about the tiny jewels. Most of my jewellery is very understated – you’ll have seen a variety of fine chain bracelets on my swatching pictures over the years but none in recent months because they went dull or broke. As I say, I don’t treat them with any particular care. So, I was really curious to see how L’Era fared over time – I put the Paperclip bracelet on last October and haven’t taken it off since. The wear is very impressive – it’s still as gold as it was at the beginning.
L’Era Jewellery – New Designs
From bottom to top – a vermeil necklace I bought not so very long ago and it’s completely lost its lustre, my original L’Era Paperclip bracelet, and the new Shimmer Paperclip bracelet, which, like it’s plainer sister, went on my wrist straight away and has stayed there.
L’Era Jewellery – New Designs
There’s also a Shimmer Paperclip necklace (also on straight away!) which will be a summer go-to – it’s a great length being somewhere between short and long so if you’re layering your chains, this is an excellent middle chain.
There’s an anklet in the same design but I am not ready by any means to get my ankles out yet! When I am ready, I’ll wear with trainers.
L’Era Jewellery – New Designs
I love both the bracelet (£45 HERE) and the necklace (from £59 HERE). The mini lock with a lab grown diamond is £59 HERE. The jewellery comes so nicely packaged in a pistachio green wallet inside a box and honestly, it feels like such a treat to have these. I have a code for you – use BRITBEAUTY20 for 20% off (excluding sets) until 31st May 2024. If you have special birthdays to buy for (I think Lucy would love these because she is like me in preferring understated jewellery) or just think it’s time to shine up your spring, I’d genuinely recommend for robust but delicate daily wear.
Transparency Disclosure
All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
When it comes to the my studio, I’m starting to feel like I’m trapped in Groundhog Day, repeating the same work day after day after day with only some slight variations and with no end in sight. But after I stopped working last night, I took some time to take inventory of what I still have to do, and I am actually making progress. I’m so ready to be done with this room! There’s still quite a bit to do, but I’m going to make every effort to have this room finished by the end of this month so that I can move on.
When I talk about finishing this room, I’m not including the studio bathroom. That will be a separate project, and I do plan to work on that as soon as the studio is finished. But there’s no way I can get the studio and the bathroom done by the end of this month. That much I now for sure. But I do think it’s possible that I can get the studio finished by the end of the month.
Over the last couple of work days, I’ve been trying to get the rest of the ceiling painted. It’s a much bigger job than I had anticipated, even with the scaffolding. I had to do quite a bit of cleaning and rearranging before I could get started, and I’m still having to work around a lot of big items. So far, I have most of the ceiling painted, with just this strip of blue ceiling on the mural side of the room that still needs to be painted.
Once I get the ceiling finished, painting the rest of the walls will be a breeze. This ceiling is a bear, though. I came *this close* to hiring it out, but I guess I just needed to prove to myself that I could do it.
I also have some trim to finish — baseboards and door casing around two doors. The door to the right of the office area cabinets (which is currently covered up) still needs to be trimmed out, and those areas still need baseboards.
And then the long empty wall has a door that still needs to be trimmed out, and it also needs baseboards.
And then both of those doors need to be painted.
The bases on my two work tables need to be painted. They’re going from this bright green to eggplant.
And then my desk needs a makeover, the black on the paint swatch cabinet needs to be painted white, and my desk chair needs to be reupholstered.
The cabinets in the office corner of the studio are finished for the most part, but there are still some finishing details that need attention. I need to install all of the door knobs and drawer pulls, and install the window shade. I’m still waiting for the window shade to be delivered, and I already know that the company forgot to cut the shade to my custom dimensions. But evidently, they won’t do a replacement order until I receive the first one and verify that it won’t fit. *Sigh*
And of course, I still need to make a decision about what to do with the wall around the windows and the backs of the cubbies. Regardless of that decision, I still need to add lights to the cubbies and finish the electrical stuff. I still have four electrical outlets that need to be installed inside the cabinets.
I also have two outlets that need to be installed on the other side of the room, and then there’s the decorative stuff. I’m still trying to work out in my mind how I want to handle the long, blank wall, but I think my plan is coming together. And then I need to print and frame the landscape design to go on the wall next to my desk.
And finally, I need to make the pendant light to go above my desk. I’ve already gotten started on that. After doing some figuring, I determined that the light will require 1300 tasting spoons (that’s 500 more than the gradient pinwheel artwork required!), so I’ve already cut the handles off of all 1300 wood tasting spoons.
But now every single one of those has to be sanded and shaped so that it’s not obvious that they used to have handles. I’ve only sanded this many so far…
…so that is going to be a very time-consuming project. But quite honestly, I love those types of projects. Maybe I’ll sit outside and sand spoons on Monday during the eclipse. There will be 2 hours and 40 minutes from first contact to last contact. I don’t want to miss it, but I’m also not the kind of person who can just sit still for 2 hours and 40 minutes with nothing to do. 😀
I’m sure there will be some other little projects that I’m not thinking of right now. In fact, I’m sure the floor will need some touchups, and some cabinet doors and drawers will need some readjusting. I’m sure there will be other things.
So here’s the punch list:
Finish painting the ceiling and walls;
Install and paint baseboards;
Install and paint door casings on two doors;
Paint two doors;
Paint bases on work tables;
Paint desk and add two drawers;
Paint black parts of paint swatch cabinet white;
Finish wiring electrical outlets;
Add lights to cubbies;
Finish trim on office area cabinets;
Install window shade;
Reupholster desk chair;
Make pendant light;
Frame and hang landscape design;
Decorate long, blank wall;
Clean and touchup paint on floor;
Finish adjusting doors and drawers;
Install drawer pulls and door knobs.
Each individual thing seems so simple, but seeing the whole list makes me wonder if there’s actually any possible way I can get it done by the end of the month. I’ll give it my best shot, though! I’m so ready to be done with this room and move on!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Jobi McAnuff and Robert Snodgrass analyse the race for promotion from the Sky Bet Championship after Ipswich, Leeds and Leicester all picked up wins on Easter Monday.
I decided to set up an Easter table for fun last week! We’re hosting Easter, so I’m looking forward to that. Sometimes I set the table early so I can think through what we want to use. Do you ever do that? It helps me to prepare so I know what to wash, which linens and centerpieces I might use or what I need to add to the mix. Other times I just wing it at the last minute! That works, too.
It’s fun to mix and match dishes, patterns and colors. That’s one of the reasons I made sure we had glass cabinets and shelves and even little nooks and crannies in our renovation. We don’t have a large home or storage areas to keep a lot of stuff, but I do love to see and use pretty things I’ve collected!
This time I think we may squeeze three more around this table, so I will have to adjust my place settings! For future holidays I am going to have a second table that we can set up when we have more family here. This is another reason we wanted the banquette, so we’d have more floor space to add an extra table!
Last year we set up an Easter table with these same dishes in our construction zone, so I’ve been looking forward to having a real dining area this year. You just make the best of what you have, right? It was fun but of course I was dreaming about the completed space when I set the table in the saw dust. 🙂
Now we have our little dining area to gather in and it will be so special to make new holiday memories in this home!
Are you hosting Easter this year?
I’ll share more photos below, and you’ll find a full source list at the end of the post!
This book planter is so darling, I couldn’t pass it up. It has a drainage hole, too, if you want to plant in it. I thought it was a fun “non-traditional” springy addition to the table.
One of my favorite beauty brands Sisley launched a new foundation called the Phyto-Teint Perfection Foundation ($125). Sisley products are quite the splurge but in my experience everything I’ve ever tried whether purchased or a press sample has been exceptional in quality and performance.
The Sisley team sent over a few shades of their new foundation and new shades of Le Phyto Rouge Lipstick ($70) shades to try. Today I have a review + swatches.
Phyto-Teint Perfection Foundation
The Phyto-Teint Perfection Foundation is a medium-full coverage formula that gives a soft matte look with a blurred finish. It’s almost like wearing a filter on your face with the way it blurs out the skin. It’s described as “radiant matte” although to me it still feels like a true matte, perhaps a soft matte is a better description.
It’s described as having medium coverage that is buildable and I 100% agree. Still the pigment is opaque enough that I feel less is more. A little goes a VERY long way. I would recommend dotting or dabbing on spots around the face and blending with a brush or sponge. If you apply too much it will look thick.
You can see the transformation in this video linked below. It blends out really nicely.
Lasting power is very good. It sets to a beautiful finish I think I could probably skip powder.
Shade wise I’m in between colors as I am still my winter skin tone. The foundation shades in the 3 shade range should match in a month or so as match my other Sisley foundations (I still love the Phyto-Teint Nude reviewed here). The Sisley team sent 3N Apricot and 3W2 Hazel, both of which are a little too dark for me. I ordered 2W2 Desert in hopes it would match but there is quite a big gap between 2 and 3. Mixing the two gives me the perfect match right now. (I ordered from Selfridges and signed up for their year long flat rate global shipping.)
Overall love. I would say if you have texture or super dry skin this might emphasize imperfections as any matte finish will do. That being said my skin has been going through a hormonal skin flare up and I have break outs galore. This foundation covered everything so well and so smoothly I’ve gotten comments about how good my skin looks with this on (when underneath the base it does not).
Below with just the foundation on:
Below with a full face wearing:
Le Phyto Rouge – NEW shades
Sisley added new shades of the Le Phyto Rouge Lipstick ($70). These are super creamy, opaque and the formula is absolute perfection. New colors include 201 Tokyo Rose and 45 Rouge Milano. Both pull very warm on me but in the tubes they look more on the neutral side. I love the formula and they don’t really have a scent (they smell like a natural kind of scent). Colors aren’t really me right now but I suspect with a tan I will be wearing 201 more.
Overall love the foundation. I don’t think it will be for everyone though as it’s very matte and I know a lot of you prefer a sheer or dewy finish. Lipstick formula is definitely worth checking out. They have lots of other colors to pick from and if you’re looking for a classic lipstick with great texture, lasting power and opacity the Le Phyto Rouge is among the best. In terms of Sisley lipstick formulas I have to say that the Phyto-Rouge Shine is still my favorite.
For skintone reference I’m linking an older Foundation Shade Guide Roundup I did in 2021. It lists my foundation and concealer shade matches with links to reviews I’ve done. I think it’s time for an update since some of these formulas have since been discontinued. I’ll try to put together an updated one. Quick note that the list is what my matches are most of the year. Right now I’m lighter than nearly everything on the list but I tan easily and will be back to my usual skin tone shade very soon.
Y’all, this has been a long road, but the cabinets in the office area of my studio are just about done! There are still some finishing touches that need to be done, but I can’t do those things until other projects are done. I’ll explain that later in this post. But I’ve gotten these cabinets as finished as they can be for now.
Before I show you, let’s go back and remember how these started out. I started with basic IKEA Sektion cabinets with Veddinge doors and drawer fronts. After I installed the cabinet boxes, they looked like this…
And the Veddinge doors and drawer fronts looked like this…
And after adding my customizations, the progress looks like this…
So let me explain the most obvious unfinished part — the missing drawer fronts. These four drawer fronts are painted, gold foiled, and ready to be attached. I had high hopes that I could get that done, but the instruction manual showing how to assemble and attach those drawer fronts is buried somewhere in the depths of my very messy studio.
I quickly searched for it this morning, but couldn’t find it. So I tried to find it online with no success. I thought I could figure it out without the instruction manual, but if you’ve ever assembled IKEA Sektion cabinets with drawers, you know that the brackets have to be attached in a certain way depending on the specific drawer arrangement you have for your particular cabinet.
I finally figured out the small drawers without the instruction manual, but not after trying at least six different (wrong) ways of attaching the brackets. I finally got it on about the sixth or seventh attempt. And these little drawers only use one kind of bracket.
The bigger drawer fronts use two different types of brackets with probably 16 different possible configurations, so there was no way I was going to try to guess. I know I tucked that instruction manual away in a safe spot so that I wouldn’t lose it. But now I can’t remember where that safe spot is. 😀 As soon as I find it (or find the instructions online), I’ll attach those last four drawer fronts.
I also still need to do this piece of trim at the floor on this one cabinet, but I can’t do that until the baseboard is installed, and I can’t install the baseboard until that exterior door just to the right of these cabinets is trimmed out.
I also have a couple of defective parts, which surprised me. This cabinet door isn’t even installed properly because the part of the hinge that attaches inside the cabinet is defective. They’re all supposed to be three-way adjustable, but I can’t get that one to adjust at all, so it pulls the door down too low so that it won’t close. I’ll need to get a replacement for that. I also have a drawer slide with a defective soft close on it. The drawer won’t close unless I push it closed all the way.
This area where the cabinets meet the wall will need some small trim to cover those cracks. I was tempted to use caulk to fill them, but with as much as our house moves and shifts throughout the year, I think the caulk would crack and have to be refilled regularly. A small trim would look much better, but I can’t install that until the countertop is installed.
So the cabinets are done for the most part. All of the big stuff — adding trim, painting, clear coating, adding the gold accents, etc. — are finished.
My next step is to make the countertop, and I have to admit that I’m terrified. I have put this off as long as I can because when I made the countertop on the other wall, the dust from those boards caused such painful skin problems for me that literally lasted for months. It was awful. (I shared about it here.)
In all of my 30+ years of DIYing, I had never experienced any kind of reaction to any product I’ve used, so I didn’t take any precautions to cover my skin before running the boards through my table saw. But this time, you better believe I’ll be covering myself head to toe, and then showering directly after all of the pieces are cut. The thought of potentially having to go through that again genuinely terrifies me.
Thankfully, it’s a small countertop and should be a relatively quick project. Once that’s done, I can install the window casing, add that little trim where the cabinets meet the wall, and then finish the sconces and get them installed. Oh! And I still need to add the cabinet door and drawer pulls! Cabinets need jewelry, too!
I’m so incredibly excited to have the bulk of this massive project finished. The rest should be a breeze! And by the way, as soon as I find that instruction manual and get those last for drawer fronts on, I’ll add a picture to this post. I’m hoping that will be later today! I just need to remember where that spot is where I tucked that instruction manual away for safe keeping. 😀
UPDATE! I found it! About ten seconds after I hit the “publish” button on this post, I remembered where I put that instruction manual, so here are the cabinets with the rest of the drawer fronts attached.
I can’t wait to get this area finished!! It’s been a long time coming, and I’m so excited to finally see it become reality.
FYI, the reflections on the gold accents sometimes cause an optical illusion where it looks like the trim is curved. That’s something that only happens in pictures. In person, there is no such optical illusion. But rest assured, all of the trim and gold foil accents are perfectly straight on my cabinets, and none of my cabinet doors or drawers are bowed. 🙂
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Follow Mail Sport’s live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Wales take on Finland in their Euro 2024 play-off semi-final. Rob Page’s side are aiming for a third consecutive run at European glory, but must first navigate Finland at Cardiff City Stadium ahead of a potential spot in the final against either Poland or Estonia.
NO GOAL: Wales 3-1 Finland
The referee goes over to check the monitor, and rules the goal out.
It’s hard to tell why it was ruled out, as the referee would know whether the whole of the ball went over the line, but there may have been some blocking mishap at play.
VAR intervenes for a Welsh goal!
Wales might have wrapped things up here… and there may be no limit of substitutions from Finland to stop the rot!
Williams fires in a corner from the left, and Davies at the far post gets his head to it – only for Hradecky to knock it out! Or does he?
The referee gets a vibration… and the goal crossed the line. The hosts are three up.
Let’s try this again… or are they?
Wales 3-1 Finland
More changes for Finland, as Pohjanpalo is swapped for Kallman, and Pukki makes way for Jensen.
Finland will need these substitutions to jump-start things.
Wales 3-1 Finland
More changes, as Johnson is swapped for Daniel James for the hosts, and Schuller and Lod are traded for Antman and Kirinen on the Finnish bench.
When play resumes, Wales have a corner to take, and James almost sneaks it across the line – but Hradecky is equal to the move.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Moore nearly pulls off an ambush after Finland fall asleep at the wheel and allow the player to wander into the box and stare down Hradecky one-on-one.
His shot lacks potentcy, however, and Leverkusen ‘keeper only has to drop at his near post to stop the ball.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Ampadu steams through the mid-pack before passing to Williams on the left as Wales plot a run towards Finland’s penalty area.
The visitors take some of the sting out of the initial attack, but Wales keep hold of possession.
Wales 3-1 Finland
The cards are flying, with Hakans the next to be flashed after going down on the edge of the Wales box with a theatricality Rhys Ifans himself would have been proud of.
Finnish frustration is showing, and Wales look very comfortable indeed.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Wilson does get into the match facts soon after, however, as he’s handed a yellow card after going charging into Ivanov with force.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Wilson pulls at his shirt after firing a good-looking effort towards Hradecky at pace, but the ball flies just past the goal mouth to deny what would have been a very stylish fourth goal.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Our first home substitute of the night, as Brooks, who has been such a sparky presence, is swapped for veteran Kieffer Moore.
He trots on sporting a Mr Men-style head bandage, as Brooks walks the periphery of the pitch to raucous applause.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Alho high up on the right fires the ball towards a waiting Hakan in the box, but he can’t reach the effort as he’s swarmed by defenders and pushed off course.
Wales are looking bullish, and Finland haven’t been able to give them any fright comparable to their first-half threats.
Wales 3-1 Finland
Finland trip forward, again clinging onto possession, as they attempt to beat the lively Welsh press.
They can’t get far, however, as the hosts keep them penned in their own half for the time being.
Wales 3-1 Finland
James is next in the book, after scrapping with Hakans, who has been pesky, on the sidelines and tugging him to the ground.
WATCH: Johnson gets onto the scoresheet
He had a bright first half, and it pays off very quickly indeed in the second.
Wales 3-1 Finland
A nasty collision between Wilson and Tenho leaves both players rolling in the turf, bringing play to a half as they receive treatment.
Tenho, very much the immovable object in the tumble, gets a yellow card when he’s back and dusting himself off.
Goal: Johnson makes it three for the hosts! (Johnson 47′)
Wales know how to head out!
After winning a freekick 25 yards out to the left of goal, Williams lofts the ball to the far post, and it’s pecked down before falling to a waiting Johnson, who knocks it past Hradecky cool as you like.
Really clever control from Brooks to send it his way – have Wales killed things off?
SECOND-HALF: Wales 2-1 Finland
We’re back underway in Cardiff, with the hosts kicking proceedings off for a huge 45 minutes.
How are the other ties doing?
Here are your half-time scores in the remainder of the play-off ties.
Bosnia & Herzegovina 0-0 Ukraine
Greece 4-0 Kazakhstan
Israel 1-2 Iceland
Poland 1-0 Estonia
WATCH: Neco Williams’ super-sweet freekick
A classy way to double your lead at home.
HALF-TIME: Wales 2-1 Finland
Finland made swathes of possession pay, and the openness of the first-half told late on after a really confident showing from Wales in cruise control.
Plenty more to come after the break, I’d say.
Goal: A familiar face reduces the deficit! (Pukki 45′)
Threaten, and make good on it!
Who else but dangerman Teemu Pukki, who slips past a borderline frozen-looking Mepham on the edge of the box to dance through and fire at goal.
A sliding Ward can’t keep him out… game on!
Wales 2-0 Finland
What a vital lead for Wales before the break. They’ve looked confident throughout, but Finland have been able to threaten in bursts and forced wobbliness from the Dragons’ backline.
Wales are forced into defending duty now as Finland win a succession of freekicks, but the final one flies into Ward’s gloves after gliding in from 25 yards out.
Goal: Williams doubles Wales’ lead! (Williams 38′)
After giving a Wales a fright at one end, the visitors are conceding a valuable freekick at the other, as Tenho pushes Johnson to the grass at the top of the D.
Brief debate between Williams, Johnson, and Wilson about who should take it leaves the ball at the first man’s feet.
Ampadu gets a brief telling off in the wall before Williams can let fly… but when he does – what a strike, what a goal!
Wales 1-0 Finland
A lovely strike from Wilson from 30 yards out is stopped well by Hradecky. It’s a straightforward for the Leverkusen goalkeeper, but quick-thinking too – although Johnson might have been offside by a toenail if the effort had gone in.
Wales 1-0 Finland
James releases a rudderless ball from 25 yards out which rolls without intent towards Hradecky’s gloves, handing possession back to the visitors.
But when a long ball is sprayed in Pohjanpalo’s direction on the right, he can’t pull it away from Mepham, who is all over him and forces the ball away from danger.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Wales have a strong chance here, after Johnson bullies an approaching Finland defender away from the ball on the right edge of the box, and fires silkly towards the near post.
The angle means it doesn’t trouble Hradecky, however.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Pukki continues to pose problems for Wales to solve as he makes his foray into a cluttered box, and manages to find Hakans square on goal – or at least, he things he does.
As the Welsh lock up, Pohjanpalo is the one who actually strikes the ball just ahead of the six-yard box, but has his effort thoroughly blocked.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Kamara in the mid-pack attempts to control tempo and keep the ball at Finnish feet, but under pressure from Roberts, the final pass is struck from range well into the grasp of Ward.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Finland win the first corner of the match, which Lod lines up to send it, the outswinger entirely bypassing players from both sides in the box.
When Peltola goes chasing after it on the other side of the pitch, he’s toppled by a feisty Johnson, conceding a freekick in the process.
When Finland do little with it and Wales look to head off, Lod gets revenge – and the match’s first yellow card – when he steamrollers Williams. Lots of pep and fire early on.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Pukki is felled by James as he attempts to escape up the pitch from the Finland box, winning his side a freekick in their own half.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Mepham ushers the ball forward, before handing off to Roberts on the right, looking for Brooks in the box, but Finland are quick to rebuff the hosts, and unlock their dangerous left wing, as Hakans combines with Pukki on the run yet again.
Things are nicely open for now, with Finland increasingly keen to see proceedings level again.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Two strong opportunities as play races between both ends, with Pukki having a sliding shot at goal inside the box after picking up from Hackans on the left first.
Play then slides back down to the Finnish half, with Brooks keen to slip away again. His one-on-one with Hradecky sees his first shot blocked, and attempts for Wales to bury the remains go begging after a strong defensive showing from Finland under pressure.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Wales are forced into defending now, after Finland swarm into the box and the hosts can’t control the bobbing ball.
Hakans eventually pulls it down, and looks to smack it past Ward on the half-volley, but his strike flies just out for a goal kick.
WATCH: Brooks spurs Wales ahead
Now there’s a statement of intent from the home side.
Wales 1-0 Finland
Well, that’s one way to start a play-off tie. Wales looked dominate in the opening moments, and immediately made Finland pay with a clever bit of confident play.
As the visitors try and hold onto the ball at the back now, the Dragons buzz about, keen to make life very difficult.
Goal: Wales are off to the races! (Brooks 3′)
We’re scarcely underway, when Wales go for jugular, Wilson skittering into the box after picking up a rebounded ball and firing at Hradecky – the Leverkusen keeper makes the save but the ball springs for Brooks, and he can leather it into the back of the net!
KICK-OFF: Wales 0-0 Finland
The Finnish fans are already leaping up and down, and it’s their side who get us underway for this tantalising play-off semi-final
Here come the national anthems
Lots of brass band boom and bombast from the Finnish national anthem, up first, ‘Maamme’, or ‘Our Land’.
There are only a few hundred travelling supporters this evening, but they make a good fist of it, and all the players belt it out before it’s time for Wales’ spine-tingler.
Cardiff City Stadium’s proverbial roof lifted, it’s time to get things underway!
‘Yma o Hyd’ booms out of the speakers
… at Cardiff City Stadium, and the fans are in full voice – so stirring is the scene, some travelling Finland supporters even get in the mood and join in.
The lights are going down, and the players are preparing to come out… An enormous match for Wales, coming right up.
Tottenham wonderkid Brennan Johnson keeps his place in the Wales starting XI as he continues to enjoy a bright 2023-24 after his summer move from Nottingham Forest.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, he talks sharp dressing and national pride – have a leaf through, below.
Rob Page looks forward in a post-Bale reality
One name looms larger than most in the recent history of Welsh football, and Euro 2024 would mark the first major tournament in ABE (After Bale Era).
Rob Page, however, is keen for younger members of the squad to see his retirement as an opportunity, as he told the press on Wednesday.
We have lost one of the world’s best players with Gareth.
There has been enough in the squad to put us in a position where we are two wins away from qualifying for the fourth time (in the last five major tournaments).
Of course he’s going to be missed on and off the pitch but it gives others an opportunity.
With the final whistle blown, Georgia have pulled off an upset and shocked Luxembourg 2-0 – they’ll face the winner of Greece versus Kazakhstan next week.
But what of the rest of the night’s matches? Can you predict who ends up on top by roughly 9.30pm?
Wales can draw on recent qualification form
… after reaching the 2022 World Cup via the same route, and despatching Austria and Ukraine in the process.
That will ease tensions of those made nervous by their European Championship qualification record: they’re zero for three, having lost every play-off tie they’re been drawn into.
That’s Hungary in 1963, Yugoslavia in 1976, and Russia in 2003.
He starts on the bench, but national team captain’s very inclusion in Page’s squad was a curious one, in light of his non-existent recent form.
You can read more on the manager’s conundrum below.
More theatrics from Wales
… with the recruitment of Notting Hill’s own Rhys Ifans (my blog, my reference choice) to give Rob Page’s men a galvanising pep talk ahead of the crunch clash.
Ifans’ appearance in the dressing room comes on the heels of Michael Sheen’s two years ago, ahead of the Dragons’ two Nations League fixtures.
The former will hope he has more success than the latter, whose rousing speech couldn’t stop Wales from falling to Poland and Belgium in quick succession.
TEAM NEWS – in brief
Two changes from the Wales side that faced Turkey in their last 1-1 stalemate to close the door on group stage qualifying, as Chris Mepham replaces Luton’s Tom Lockyer, and David Brooks is swapped in for Nathan Broadhead.
Finland’s last outing was against FIFA minnows San Marino, and they’ve made wholesale changes since then, among those the re-appearance of Bayer Leverkusen’s Lukas Hradecky in goal.
Breaking: TEAM NEWS – How Wales and Finland line up
Wales versus Finland is just one of this evening’s play-off ties, with Georgia in the process of beating 10-man Luxembourg 2-0 as we speak.
For more on these knockout clashes ahead of next week’s play-off finals, have a look through Mail Sport’s primer below.
Wales might feel a little, little bit nervous
Wales and Finland have met comparatively few times historically, with just 15 encounters on the board – as a result, at first glance, there looks like plenty of potential needle, with Wales having won just six times to Finland’s four victories.
Indeed, the last meeting – a 2021 friendly – ended in a 0-0 stalemate, one scoreline we can be assured of avoiding this knockout evening.
Neither can Wales cling to dominance on home soil – in their last three trips to Cardiff, Finland have lost one, drawn one, and won one.
That 2009 win was in emphatic style too, thanks to a late, late, late goal from Shefki Kuqi.
Leeds versus Leeds in Cardiff
There’s more than one familiar face amongst the Huuhkajat to followers on the English top-flight, such as former Norwich striker and one-time phenomenon Teemu Pukki, and Leeds’ Glen Kamara, who was on media duty on Wednesday.
He’s one of five Leeds players that could be featuring this evening, with Wales having their pick of his team-mates Joe Rondon, Ethan Ampadu, Daniel James, and Connor Roberts.
And this, Kamara believes, will be of huge advantage to the travellers.
They are all quality players and have done well this season. Hopefully I can use all my information against them in a way to help us.
I’m looking forward to playing against them. 2024 has been good to us all as we’re in good form at Leeds.
All I can do is take my good experience right now to help my team-mates, and hopefully get the win.
Marvellous statement of intent from the opposition
… currently taking over Cardiff, the Huuhkajat (or eagle-owls, naturally) have tipped a hat to Gareth Bale’s iconic – and muy impopular – ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid’ flag with a version of their own.
For the uneducated, that’s Suomi (aka Finland, in Finnish), Sisu (Finnish for strength, courage and determination), and Sauna (no translation necessary).
Now, how did we wind up here?
Wales seemed on the precipice of one of their most straightforward qualifying campaigns after the Dragons started autumn off on the right foot with a 2-0 victory against Latvia, an inevitable 4-0 thumping of Gibraltar, and a good-looking 2-1 smash and grab against Croatia.
In fact, rumours of Rob Page being quick-marched towards the exit after a lacklustre World Cup campaign all but dissipated – until the final two matches in November, against Armenia and Turkey.
Wales were held to draws in both outings, where wins were vital to keep Croatia out of the second-place spot in Group D.
Good evening!
Noswaith dda, hyvää iltaa, hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of Wales versus Finland, with kick-off at Cardiff City Stadium at 7.45pm.
With a third consecutive European Championship appearance for Wales on the line, it really is all to play for in the capital this evening, after Rob Page’s side failed to overturn Turkey and Armenia in their final run of group qualifying matches last autumn.
In Finland, they meet an opponent more than 30 points below them in the FIFA rankings – but the visitors will be keen to upset the apple cart.
We’re kicking off in just over an hour and 45 minutes, but until then, stick around for all the build-up, team news and more.
Key Updates
VAR intervenes for a Welsh goal!
Johnson makes it three for the hosts! (Johnson 47′)
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Wales 3-1 Finland – Euro 2024 play-off semi-final: Live score, team news and updates as Brennan Johnson restores hosts’ two-goal cushion minutes after the restart
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I have been thinking of adding cafe curtains to my windows for over a year. I finally gave it a try! I don’t know what I was waiting for, it’s not a life-altering decision. It’s just a pressure rod and a cafe curtain (and some curtain rings!). Ha!
I’m glad I finally listened to my heart. I love it! I like the window without it, too, so I wasn’t certain I needed to try it. I wasn’t in a hurry. But my heart kept asking! This curtain panel set is not expensive and will be simple to remove or change if I decide it’s not right for me later. Now that I love it, I might even add them to the dining room!
Why not? Decorating should be fun.
Our home should be a reflection of the things we love. I was sharing with my HomeBody Gathering Place community last week that when it comes to our home, I think it’s always worth listening to our heart. We don’t have to change everything based on a whim, but there’s a reason our heart is drawn to certain things. It’s good to explore what it is and sometimes you can find a reasonable or “less risky” way to follow your heart.
If there isn’t a big risk to making that decision or in giving something a try, what do you have to lose? What’s the worst that could happen? If you can live with that, it might be worth the risk. Or look for a similar alternative that still inspires you.
There are definitely some decisions where it might make more sense to “play it safer” and others to not be so worried about!
A home should tell our story, so I think it’s worth finding ways to let your heart speak so you can decorate with what you really love.
This post contains ad affiliate links (denoted by a ‘*’) & gifted items (denoted by ‘ad – gifted). You can read my full disclaimer here.
I’ve always loved jewellery, but in the past year or two I’ve really honed in on my style, my everyday favourites and the items that I never take off. They are outfit makers, polishers even and they have the ability to put balance back into a look that just feels a bit off. I’ve realised that for me I like to blend chunkier, sculptural pieces with everyday lighter pieces, along with things like my rings and bracelets that stay put no matter what. So here’s what my jewellery wardrobe looks like…
NECKLACES
I own a few more necklaces than I’ll mention here, but really at the moment I’m switching between just two. I’m either wearing the Mejuri Curb Chain Necklace* (ad – gifted) – which I’d say is probably my top jewellery pick of the bunch – or the Lie Studios Elly Necklace*. Both are complete opposite ends of the spectrum and add a slightly different flavour to whatever outfit I’m wearing. The Mejuri I leave on, until I swap it out for the Lie Studios as that’s more of a daytime-only costume piece. But really there isn’t much decision making that goes on here – it’s either one or the other.
EARRINGS
Ok here’s where I play a bit. I’ll start with the simple one first. My everyday earring is a style from Mejuri which are now discontinued but are most similar to their Easy Medium Hoops*. Just a simple hoop, nothing crazy but I can sleep and shower in them and only ever take them out to swap them for something bolder. I just bought the Mejuri Sculptural Hoops* and they are truly beautiful – these two together would be the perfect dainty/bold earring capsule. Most of the bolder earrings that I wear though are from Lie Studios and I mostly switch between their drop-earring style, the Julie* or their extra large Camille Studs* (ad – gifted). You would have seen me wear both of these styles multiple times as it’s what I use most mornings to add polish to my outfit.
BRACELETS
I don’t really mix up my bracelets, mainly because my Apple Watch takes up most of the real estate on my wrist. So I just wear my Mejuri Round Box Chain Bracelet* (ad – gifted), with their Timepiece Bracelet* (ad – gifted). The latter is a little chunkier and the former daintier and I never take them off, only ever swapping them out if I’m at an event and want to leave my wrists bare. One day I’d love to add the Lie Studios Elly Bracelet* to my collection – it’s on my shopping list!
RINGS
I almost forgot to add this section in! I NEVER take these off, so they don’t register in a way. They are just part of me – literally – some I can’t remove! My engagement ring and wedding ring were from a local shop in Brighton (I think we got engaged almost nine years ago now and I STILL love my ring, so simple – Mark did so well!). Then on my index finger on my left hand I wear a very, very old black gemstone ring that Mejuri don’t even make anymore (the Solo Diamond Ring* is similar), with their Diamonds Line Ring* (ad – gifted) stacked. On my right index finger I wear the Mejuri Twist Ring* (ad – gifted) that I’ve owned for YEARS, on my middle finger their 2mm Smooth Band* and on my ring finger on my right a Claire Kinder ring that I picked up when we went to visit Shop Anomie in San Francisco.
