A TOUCH OF MOROCCO WITH LRNCE // INTERIOR INSPIRATION

You know when you fall down the rabbit hole of joy, otherwise known as Pinterest and you find that one image that draws you in? Well that happened the other day while I was looking at interiors and I discovered a touch of Morocco with Lrnce. A gorgeous Belgian fashion and design label based in Marrakesh and OH MY EYES!

I immediately fell for the beautiful lines and graphic prints of the designs and the colours are so up my street! There are so many pieces to swoon over and I definitely wanted to share some of my favourites with you here.

CANARY YELLOW & BOTANICAL VIBES // STYLE EDIT

OK I'm officially claiming it, spring is here and I couldn't be happier to see the sun. It really is a mood booster and when the sun disappears I'm trying to find other ways to make my own! I've never really worn yellow as a colour, or red for that matter, in my mind I often felt I would look washed out being blonde and it instead it was reserved for raven locks.

So often we get stuck in a style rut, reaching out for the same colours and clothes combo and it's hard to step out of our comfort zone and be playful with your style. So I decided to bite the bullet and break out the Canary yellow, yep this ruffled beauty of a shirt caught my eye and I couldn't resist sharing it with you.

GET READY FOR DATE NIGHT WITH THIS HIS 'N' HERS VALENTINE STYLE

With love just around the corner, or at least the social out pouring and feverish declarations of hearts and flowers only weeks away, I though it would be fun to put together a little style guide for the perfect valentine date. Nowadays most romance is contained to the swipe of screen or the furious volley of emjoi's, but not me. I prefer a much more old skool approach of getting asked out on a date rather than sending a risque selfie, so being married I still make time for a night out or a sneaky day time adventure.

HOW TO CREATE A HOLIDAY CAPSULE WARDROBE WITH LYST

Beautiful blue skies, sparkling seas and dappled light, toes sinking into white sand, sun kissed skin wrapped in warmth *sigh* Yep I'm definitely itching for an island getaway, something to soothe the soul and enjoy a little R&R. In fact I've been practically stalking my friends IG feeds as they head off to Greece and other Mediterranean getaways, so I thought it would be fun to create a holiday capsule wardrobe wish list using Lyst to appease my wanderlust and give me some style inspiration.

If you're anything like me when it comes to packing, then you'll probably find youself taking five pairs of shoes and a gazillion outfit choices 'just incase' and wondering why your getting extra luggage charge when taking a short haul mini break. As I'm longing for some actual sun *erm hello British summer?!* and keep getting distracted with the likes of pinterest, I've decided to plan a hypothetical four day adventure to a sunny Greek Isle and see whether the holiday gods send me some cosmic love ;)

The concept of a capsule wardrobe is to create a small collection of versatile clothes that you can use like a pic 'n' mix to achieve great style without packing everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, but how on earth do you know what to choose? I mean how many bikini's and shoes could a girl need? * lots apparently* but there is a way around it. I decided to use the Lyst, online shopping site that allows you to follow brands, watch trends and create wish 'lysts' in one place all for free and follow these five simple rules:

Capsule Wardrobe Top Five Tips

1. The first rule of fight club a capsule wardrobe is plan your outfits – yep this fills me with dread – how on earth can I predict what I'm going to feel like wearing?! Apparently the best way to do this is two fold: One, pick a colour palette making it easy to mix and match your outfits and limiting the amount you take, and two, for every one pair of bottoms two/three tops. OK so the last point might need some tweaking to work for me but in theory it sounds like a good idea.

2. Pack light, which means wear your heaviest clothes to travel in. So that bulky jacket and heavy pair of shoes you love so much, they going to be your new best plane buddy! Wear them and store above the locker if you get hot on your flight.

3. Shoes...oh how I love you! Ideally you want one pair of chunky wedge sandals that can dress up or down, one pair of cute pumps for running around in and a pair of flip flops for the pool/beach. Easy! Keeping them neutral maximises how many outfits you can wear them with too.

4. One a day keeps the over packing at bay! Before you reach for your passport and lotion, pull all your holiday clothes onto the bed and start creating a look for each day. By planning your daily go-to style you can save on suitcase space and also precious adventure time by eliminating morning choices.

5. If in doubt leave it out. Does every outfit choice make you feel yay or ney? Try on all your options packing them, if they don't feel great at home or you're not sure how they look then leave them in the no pile. Adding in hot sun and copious amounts of gelato isn't going to make those jeans feel cosier. It's time to say yay to good style days.

As I've been living in one denim skirt and the same three t-shirts I really need to update my summer wardrobe, and what better way to plan my purchases/adventure packed suitcase than a personal shopper in my back pocket. The app is super easy to use and within minutes Lyst allows you create your own collections full of you favourite brands and with alerts to let you know when your faves hit the sales. Better yet it creates suggestions based on your preferred style and previous loves, showcasing new labels and trends that you might miss otherwise. I used it here to pull together this Island capsule style and give me inspiration for my holiday.

I love this holiday capsule wardrobe especially the the oversized floppy straw hat from asos! The pastel colours would be great in the hot sun and by choosing similar tones I can create lots of outfit options from only a few clothes. The heavy coral cord shirt doubles up as a jacket and can be used as a shirt for cooler days, and choosing a metallic swimsuit means you can look stylish by the pool or wear it with jeans to create a fun nigh vibe.

Have you ever created a capsule wardrobe for holidays or even day to day seasonal wear? I'd love to hear what styles work for you when packing.

*In collaboration with Lyst 

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PATCHES AND THE HIGH STREET'S HOTTEST DENIM TRENDS // MAMA STYLE

In my last post I mentioned how I was really getting into the current denim trends and how they were on fleek when it comes to fashion at the mo – you might have seen me try on a patch jacket from Pull & Bear over on Snapchat *swoon*. Yes this fun fashion throwback has been making an appearance on runways and fashion mags, as well as filling up my Instagram feed. So I thought it would be fun to show you some of my favourite designs so you can patch it up, mama style.

From Left to Right: Evil Eye | Lips | Sorry not Sorry | Dungarees | Fries before Guys | Cry Baby | Over it Rainbow | Doughnut | Bad Luck Babe | Only Dog Can Judge Me | Make Your Fortune | Bad Bitch

My Patch Inspiration! 

If you feel inspired and fancy rocking the look, why not dig out an old denim jacket or maybe just a good old sweatshirt and show it some love. What do you think? Do you love the patch look?

Images 2/3/4/5/6/7

SHORTSTITCH STYLING SERVICE FOR KIDS

Every now and again a company comes along and you think yes this is ace! and that's exactly what happened when I was approached by ShortStitch, a personal shopping service for kids fashion. OK so it might sound a little luxurious, reserved for the likes of celebrities and London's elite, but ShortStitch are here to shake it up and make cool affordable for the likes of me and you.

The truth is parents are busy creatures, unlike the slower days pre-child where you could leisurely lie in until eleven and spend hours enjoying lunch out, we're now running on a whole different schedule. In fact I don't quite remember what on earth I used to do with ALL that time now that every minute is so packed with busy. So when a cool kids company, ShortStitch, creates a way to take the stress and strain out of shopping – because let's face it, who wants to play find the runaway child in a department store while having a small heart attack – then I'm going to say a whole lot of yes to that!

I love fashion, especially kids clothes and I often mix up high street finds with independent labels when picking outfits for F. So when I trialled the ShortStitch service I wondered how I would find it and if they would be able to pull together the sort kids fashion I love. The Answer? Oh yes!

The clothing is aimed at 4 - 10 year olds and using the service was super easy, you simply click on the website for your own personal consultation – sounds quite fancy ay– and fill in a few details: age, gender, show size, clothes size. You get asked whether they like to play any sports? Do they have a particular interest and what do you tend to do day to day?  Then you click a few buttons and whoosh your order is done. Now just sit back and wait for your box of yay to turn up.

I was excited to see the rather cool box arrive at my door, full to the brim with wonderful brands that I know and love, as well as a few new ones. With a selection of t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, shoes, boots, hats, shorts and cardies, I was pretty much prepared for any event. There is a cute tape measure and the all important price list so you can see what everything costs, and the best bit is you try on the clothes in the comfort of your home. What you like you keep and pay for, and anything you don't, well you just send back with the box. So simple.

I must admit F loved trying these on, I think getting a big important box in the post made him feel quite special ;) We tried on a few of the outfits and F let me take a few pics of our favourites so I could share them with you, and as a treat afterwards we went to the ice cream parlour and enjoyed a few scoops with sprinkles.

I really can't get enough of these 10IS boots! I love the tan colour with white laces and toe and they look ace with light denim, especially the I Dig Denim pair that he's wearing here.

The items in our box ranged from £20 up to £110, the higher priced pieces being a rather gorgeous hooded rain jacket and the above boots, but with plenty of gorgeous t-shirts, jumpers and jeans all around the £25 - £40 mark, I would say this would be a perfect hassle free way to pick out an outfit for any occasion, as every piece of clothing is high quality and beautifully designed. 

I love these cute looks for summer with this Scotch & Soda Straw Hat and Vigro embroided tee, and I was very excited to see my favourite Finger in the Nose label in there too, like this two tone t-shirt above.

After picking out choosing to keep a few pieces to keep and take with us to Berlin next week, I simply packed the rest back into the box, sealed it with the provided labels and used the nearest Click + Collect service, although there is a courier collection available by appointment at no extra cost.

This is such a great way for style conscious parents to see the new season trends at home and try them first hand before purchasing. The best bit is you are only paying the recommended retail price so there are no hidden costs to you *great ay!* the service is free making this a brilliant concept in Kids fashion!*We were asked to trial the ShortStitch service for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are 100% my own and I couldn't recommend this wonderful service enough. 

STYLISH DESIGN FROM HOTEL TO HOME WITH URBANARA AND GIVEAWAY

There are two great pleasures in waking at a design hotel. First is the bed, the soft pillows and duvet that you sink into like a marshmallow mountain and the second is the robe, feeling your body sigh as you wrap yourself in a blanket like state of cosiness while hanging out in your room.

If you're lucky the towels will feature on that list too, along with luxury toiletries and the pages of a lifestyle magazine as you sip gin from the mini bar *swoon* then all too soon it's back to reality with a bump as you turn the key in the front door. But what if you could recreate that touch of luxury and enjoy stylish design from hotel to home?

On a weekday my morning routine is quite simple, roll out of bed into the shower, throw on a assemblance of clothes, moisturise and ensure child is dressed before stepping out of the door for school. It is neither slow nor steady, instead a loud jumble of instructions and thoughts of caffeine as my brain tries to kick in, but the weekend...now that's a different story. 

As Saturday dawns I like to take my time, wake slowly wrapped in my version of comfort, drink coffee, read magazines and take long showers – heaven – and if I can recreate any of the features that bring such joy from my nights away, then all the better.

This beautiful Kotra Bathrobe from URBANARA is just that, a little bit of luxury. This natural cotton and linen blend, with its anti-static and non allergenic design, is perfect for sensitive skin and makes my weekday mornings a bit more special. The sleek and contemporary design with a wrinkle black and white waffle finish feels like it belongs in a spa rather than hanging on my bathroom door, but with a robe like this I can indulge in taking time to relax at the weekend.

Then imagine this sophisticated style also comes in the form of a towel collection, yep that's right a towel for every moment to make your bathroom beautiful, plus the perfect thing to wrap yourself in after a long soak *swoon* no more mismatched towels.  

The lovely people over at URBANARA have offered one of you gorgeous readers the chance to win a four piece Kotra Towel Set to give your bathroom that hotel feel. All you need to do is enter using one of the options below for a chance to win. Good luck! x

T&C Giveaway will run for two weeks and the winner will be drawn by random using rafflecopter on the 29th February. Free UK delivery will apply for your purchase;  This prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for monetary value; No cash alternatives to the stated prize will be offered. By entering you are signing up to the Wild & Grizzly E-newsletter. Open UK residents only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MOODBOARDS AND MUSES 02

The short month of love is here *ahhh* and although it was only been a few week since I posted my first Moodboard and Muses, I'm quite keen to pop another one up and keep up the momentum in mustering up some much needed motivation, plus I'm really enjoying making these little collages.

Things I'm loving:

// Succulents. Yep bringing in some green to the home is certainly on my to do list in an attempt to shoo away the grey and fake spring. Also excited to hear about the plans for an Urban Jungle Bloggers Book!

// Water. OK that's sounds a bit random, but after drowning myself in coffee to pull me through Jan, I'm realising that my skin isn't looking so great and a good dose of hydration is needed. That plus a decent moisturiser/foundation would sooth the skin and I'm loving this organic range.

// Quotes. I'm really into inspirational quotes at the moment and pretty much sticking them at eye level around my home to give me some get up and go. I've ordered this print as a Valentines gift and planning to put it above the bed. What do you think? 

// Holograms. No I'm not talking back to the future, more holographic fabrics and fashion. I know I'm a little late to the party with this being more of a 2013/14 thing, but oh how the shimmery style has caught my eye! I'm definitely looking for some fun pumps to make my feet happy and this fun tee has just dropped in my shopping cart too ;)

Things I'm Not:

// Dungarees. OK this is a lie, I LOVE dungarees but finding a pair that fit me is like a quest for the Holy Grail, and it's driving me nuts! If you have any recommendations then please throw let me know. 

Other Things:

// I wanted to share who's been inspiring me on Instagram recently and who I'd definitely include in my February muses. These ace ladies snap stunning pics and create beautiful feeds, all with different styles and shot from various locations around the world. It's where I get my daily dose of heart eyes.

Top left: Frida over at Bon who snaps stylish selfies, cool studio spaces, hangs out with friends and pulls off the best grey locks // Top right: Julie over at Sincerely Jules who travels the globe and has a whopping amount of followers soaking up her sun kissed style // Bottom right: Irina over at Irinahp will make anyone envious with her foodie adventures, I'm totally hooked on her IG feed, totally love at first sight // Bottom left: Jasmine over at Jasmine Dowling is an amazing creator of words and prints, not to mention her style posts that make you want to soak up that Aussie vibes!

Also let's take a sec to swoon over these pins! I love this secret roof garden I pinned to my outdoor spaces board, a happy little hideaway to drink coffee and day dream among the clouds. Also keeping a note of these avocado recipes as I'm eating almost one a day at the moment!

I've started tagging some of my Instagram pics with the #moodboardandmuses hashtag so I can create a feed full of inspiration, whether it's style, colour, words, coffee etc and it would be fab if you want to join in. I'm hoping to find some fun new accounts and hopefully showcase some new muses here.

Have you got any plans for the month of love?

FIVE GOLD RINGS // MAMA STYLE

How could I not sneak this one in? Just like the old Christmas song, everyone like a bit of bling and I am totally coveting these five gold rings for Christmas. Why not dress up your digits this festive season with these beauties, ranging from the inexpensive to rolling in dough, these will make any hand happy... *ahem and I may have snapped two of these beauties up already, all in the name of advent of course*.

1. You'll find these tiny Baguette Rings in my new favourite jewellery store, plus I'm swooning over their Instagram account!
2. The perfect accompaniment to Christmas dinner, this dainty Wishbone Ring will look ace at the table.
3. Good old H&M providing us with some affordable eye candy with these stacking rings, three for the price of one!
4. I have to admit to snapping up this Cocktail Ring as soon as I laid eyes on it. I love the perfect combination of gold and blush and now it's on the sale too!
5. Not for the faint hearted, this jaw dropping piece of jewellery comes at an eye watering price but it is OH so good; from the very talented Polly Wales.

So are you going for gold this Christmas? Or are you hoping for something else in your stocking?

CREATING SUMMER STYLES WITH LYST

 

Working from home and looking after F can be quite a juggling act, so finding the time to go out shopping for new clothes and carving out a bit of me time is quite rare, which is why most of my jeans have holes in the knees and my hair is crazy long *note to self book appointment at hairdressers!* So when I was asked to collaborate with Lyst – an online shopping site that allows you to follow brands, watch trends and create wish 'lysts' in one place – to check out their site, instantly knew this would be a game changer and allow me to keep on top of all those fashion pieces I've been lusting over.

When you first sign up – which is totally free by the way *whoop* – you get asked which brands you'd like to follow and I was excited to see that all my favourite brands are on there, from ASOS to Zara and everything in between. The site is super easy to use and within minutes I had created a summer style lyst create my perfect look for hanging out at the weekend, oh and can we just take a minute to appreciate this crazy amazing ring which I'm totally in love with!

I immediately downloaded the app so I could have my 'Lyst' in my pocket and add items on the go. One of my favourite things about this site is the News for you section, which cleverly uses the data of brands liked and items listed to create a unique inspiration Lyst of fresh goodies just for you, and if you want a different type of inspiration then you can click on the The Long Lyst. This is one my favourite parts, reading bite-sized articles and interviews on trends and designers while creating mood boards and using the sale section to grab a bargain, a big win win for me. 

I can honestly say this might change the way I shop for good, no more manic super market style dashes in a snatched 30 minutes or bribing happily bringing F along for a quick trip to my favourite store. Now I can make Lyst's on the go – like jewellery I'm crushing on – or click an item and purchase it there and then. It's so super easy to use and well designed, it would be crazy not to have this in your pocket. How do you find time to shop? Are you a lyst maker or grab and go type? 

FAMILY TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY STYLE

One of the exciting things about travelling abroad is deciding what to pack and wear. Choosing what holiday style to go for can be a challenging process, as I want to be comfortable and look good without taking everything but the kitchen sink. So when Debenhams asked if we'd like to choose some items from their Holiday Shop I was excited that I could get something for all the family in one fell swoop, without spending days darting around in a lat minute pre-holiday panic.

With a renewed sense of wanderlust, I'm excited about all the travel plans we have lined up in the near future and I feel so grateful for the opportunities this blog of mine has given me and my little family, and mostly to you lovely lot for reading it *blows kiss.* I've done a few solo trips this year and found it easy to pack light, but heading on a family holiday is a whole other matter.  On our most recent trip we managed to take two small carry on cases and a trunki, which meant that a lot of things were jammed in due to F wanting to take various toys, books and other home comforts.

However in July we have two weeks of travel to take and I've been dreaming of a long haul flight, I really want to visit San Fransisco, Portland and LA as it would be an amazing adventure. So I though this would be the perfect opportunity to upscale our luggage with this generous Tripp suitcase, also the bright pattern makes it easy to spot at baggage claim.

Packing for F is easy as he's happy in t-shirts and shorts while hanging out by the pool, he was pretty stoked when I picked out this Dinosaur top and palm print hat, which looks good and protects him from the sun. Paul loved these brilliant blue casual shorts and I think the contrast of these brightly coloured suede boat shoes really makes the blue pop.

I tend to stick to dresses and shorts when travellings somewhere hot as I hate feeling restricted in my clothes, so this knee length scalloped hem dress is perfect for the day and the embroidery detail is so cute.

But my favourite of all is this Grecian style midi dress teamed with these minimalist white flats from one of my favourite brands, perfect to dress up or down depending on what you're getting up to!What is your staple style when holidaying abroad? Do you have a favourite holiday outfit?

MAMA STYLE // BODEN BLUE SUEDE BOOTS AND SPRING DRESS

After a week of unsettled weather and even a freak hailstones storm, we were totally spoilt with a super sunny Saturday and it gave me the perfect excuse to try these chic Boden ankle boots with my Hawaiian print spring dress and my new favouite Axel Backpack from Kin. I love a good pair of ankle boots as they're a great transitional piece for changing seasons, and this navy suede shade is perfect for rocking with jeans, dresses and skirts, especially the cute  attention to detail with the exposed zip at the back and neon pink zip liner.

I saw this beautiful blue door on our way for lunch and did an impromptu style shoot which F insisted being part of, checkout his photo bomb style! You can tell he's a bloggers child right? He loves getting in front of the camera.

I got a little carried away and indulged in some good old fashioned twirling for fun which amused F no end and probably made passersby wonder what on earth I was doing, but if you can't twirl in front of a blue door in a flowery dress then when can you ay?! 

The rest of our day was super slow, grabbing a green smoothie from our new favourite health food cafe, Health Hubb – which also run kids classes on nutrition – and heading to the supermarket to grab some goodies for a little Eurovision party at ours. Think 80's cocktail sticks, crisps and dips and you get the idea. I spent the evening drinking rose wine in a glittery playsuit, while shouting out the many random words I'd put down on my Eurovision Bingo card and generally having a giggle. Fun night all round.

What did you get up to this weekend? Do you have a favourite spring outfit?

*Boots c/o Boden. Backpack from Kin at John Lewis. Dress from H&M. All words & opinions are 100% my own.