It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well, at least it is in Manchester! Its annual Christmas market has arrived and is there to stay till the 22nd December

Last weekend, Tom and I spent the day exploring the festive streets of Manchester and I have since been sooooo excited for Christmas. The miserable weather did not get me down that day..

The air was filled with the smell of waffles, bratwursts and ...garlic (in a good way trust me!) I'm also a huge fan of the German style wooden huts they had like this ^^^^^^^^

I haven't been to Manchester that much so hadn't realised how amazing it is for shopping! Selfridges was certainly getting its Christmas on with these beautiful decorations!

A Selfridges in Manchester..who knew!!?? Or maybe you did and that's just me..

The talking tree was begging for a photo really wasn't it.

When is the right time to get excited for Christmas? Everyone seems to disagree on that one but I think we'll all agree that you can't control the festive bug if you go somewhere like this.

I managed to pick up a few Christmas gifts which I'd love to share with you but I know some of the present receivers will be reading this so I  better stay hushed for now! There was a good range of traditional and a bit more unique gifts though and also lots of edible ones!!

 Sooo much chocolate and fudge!!!

We ended the day in one of the bigger markets and by this time it was getting darker so the lights had their full effect.

Cheese filled bratwust anyone?! I wish they had stalls selling these all year round because they really are better than your standard hotdog!

And what better way to wash it down than with tummy-warming mulled wine! You pay a £2 deposit for the mug so if you really love you can keep it :)

I love this photo of all the roof tops. Imagine if we all lived in little Christmas villages like this all the time - how cute :)

So I'd say this day was my first big festive event :) Have you got anything Christmassy planned or do you still think it's too early for all that?

Autumn.

You would think that with the nights getting colder and darker, people would be feeling a little miserable but that never seems to be the case with Autumn does it?

Halloween, Bonfire night and the build up to Christmas makes it feel so festive and exciting...plus it also means you can pull out all your favourite knitwear and long boots. 

 A few days ago, I spent the cutest little evening with my friends in a Coffee bar where they had this little hideaway in their back yard!! Blankets and cushions galore - I was in heaven. I think it would be pretty easy to recreate yourself and be the perfect setting for sipping away on mulled wine, baileys or whatever other tummy warming drinks you like :)

I love the smell in the air after fireworks and how they seem to bring everyone together. Sparklers, toffee apples, jacket potatoes...it's the same every year but it just doesn't get old!

Dusk in my favourite time of day and the dark nights can actually be very beautiful. I love walking when the sky has a golden glow like this!

I know this post has been a little higgledy piggledy but I didn't want to just list stuff :)

What do you like about Autumn?

A few gift ideas plus a cheeky discount code for you all

It's getting to that time of year where we're all starting to think about starting our Christmas shopping and if you're like me, you'll also have a lot of friends that have their birthdays around this time. As  I've spent a fair few weeks looking for the ideal gifts, I thought I'd make a post with a few nice suggestions!

I was very lucky to be contacted by Debenhams and asked to review a bouquet* from their new Autumn range which you can view here. They are all beautiful and it took me a while to choose one but in the end, I went for ' Designer Delicious'.

I've always thought of fresh flowers as more of a Summer thing, but this range was well thought out with lots of orange/golden shades and berries which were a lovely touch.

They lasted a good two weeks and I'm pretty sure that if I knew how to look after flowers properly, they would have lasted even longer!!  (I'm a bad flower mummy!)

Flowers are a classic gift and I personally would be over the moon to receive another gorgeous bouquet like this (hint hint Tom if you're reading)...

I did get a little snap happy but I wanted to capture the flowers as they all opened. It was great that they hadn't when they arrived as it meant I could get the most out of them :)

If you'd like to order some for a loved one (or yourself!!) then you can get 25% off your flowers with this code: DFBLOG25... This is valid across all of their flowers except for the flowers by post.

HERE IS THE LINK

There's so many different colours and flower types that you're bound to find one that suits your loved one best. I am so OCD about stuff matching my room (which is blue and red) so I was delighted to have found this bouquet that met my fussy needs!

I have lots of lovely jewellery that I never wear because a) I can't find it and am too lazy to look for it  or b) I've lost it. This is why I looked into jewellery boxes to find something nice and simple where I could keep all my jewellery in one place!Speaking to people, this seems to be a common problem which is why I think this would be such a fab but practical present!

Utility is my 'go to' place for present ideas and I chose this sleek and simple jewellery box*. It tucks in very neatly when it is closed but when you pull the drawer, it extends out and has a handy mirror on the top that means you can check out how glamorous you look with all your bling on! (Did I actually just type bling....oh dear)

So here it is all filled up and I have actually been wearing jewellery much more often since getting this!

At £35, I think it fits a lot of people's budgets and if not then you could always get some jewellery instead :)

I am in love with Estella Bartlett jewellery! They usually cost around £15-20 and are so simple and pretty. I always play it safe when buying people jewellery because you can so easily get it wrong!!

How lovely are these hearts please?! 

I also wrote a post about making your own birthday box which will fit any budget so have a peek! 

What do you think? If you have any gift guides, I'd love to read them so drop a link in the comments :)