Hello to everyone who has been following this blog for many years - I'm still blogging, I'm just moving over to https://www.claireheffer.com/blog - please continue to follow and let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been kind enough to visit over the years. May the lists continue...
Showing posts with label new home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new home. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 April 2019

 




PERSONAL POSTS: MY PLANTS

I have an Aloe named Kevin; he was my first plant, given to me by my best friend Rebecca on my birthday (for my 30thI believe). He has almost died twice but changing pots and a spell outside brought him back to life (and made him grow seed pods.) 

My next plant is a small Swiss cheese plant called Cornelius (ironically a name I really struggle to spell.) My boyfriend bought him for me for my birthday after I moved into my house. Cornelius almost died when the hot weather surprised us this year, I repotted him the day before and accidentally left him in the conservatory (otherwise known as the hottest place in the world.) He burnt to a crisp – his leaves were like tissue paper. But as the base of his stem was still green, I didn’t give up. I worked hard to bring him back to life and now he’s around the same size as before the accident. 

Colin is my latest plant. I bought him for myself at Ikea, I’d been looking for one just like him for a while now – a big leaved Swiss cheese plant.  I’ve only had him a short time and luckily (fingers crossed) he’s been healthy, with new leaves appearing all the time. 

Am I the only one who names my plants? How about you, have you named any of your plants?



Sunday, 29 July 2018



PERSONAL POST: CANDLES

I think candles are very important. Scents are very important, I believe that a great scent can lift your mood and relax someone more than any other sense. Just the thought of the smell of baking bread can put a smile on your face. And my favourite smell in the whole world is seasonal here in England – it’s petrichor – the smell of rain on warm ground. In my eyes there’s nothing better. And every now and then I get a feeling I can smell the aroma of my Nan’s house – it’s a hard fragrance to describe but it’s a mix of powder, dried flowers and furniture polish, smells can take you back to a memory in an instant. I wish you could have candles made with these specific scents but also they’re so hard to pin down. If there’s a petrichor candle I’d love to find it!

Here are my favourite candles at the moment:

True Grace: Library Candle – I bought this candle a long time ago – unfortunately I don’t think they make it anymore. I treated myself to this expensive candle while I was saving up for my house and it went into a box of things to use in my new house. It was like a present to myself so when I finally saved up enough to have my own space, this is what I wanted my new space to smell like. I love books so a candle that smelt like a library seemed perfect. Every time I’d put something new in the box I’d smell this candle, even when not burning it had an amazing scent and soon everything in the box had this smell. The day I moved in I gave the candle a home and burnt it for the first time to relax after the move. I believe a candle with a great scent is one of the best presents you can buy for yourself. It’s almost finished now so I use it sparingly.

Tom Dixon: Eclectic London – this was another expensive candle I gifted myself. Not only is it the same deep and musky scent as the library candle, but it comes in more beautiful packaging, copper vessel with a marble lid that can be used when the candle is finished. This really relaxes me after a stressful day and almost feels like it helps me to breathe deeper. The excellent thing about this and the library candle is that because they are such strong scents you still get a waft of the scent when you walk past days after burning them.

& Other Stories: Kungsholmstorg - & Other Stories have so many differently scented candles on offer. I spent almost 45 minutes choosing my favourite because it was so hard to chose. Most of them are very fresh and fruity or flowery scents, which I’m not as much of a fan of but this one has a depth of scent. As you can tell I’m not the best at describing fragrances but I try! This candle is cheaper than the other two but comes in very modern, stylish packaging with a box, which is great if you’re going to give it as a present. & Other Stories also have a great selection of perfumes; beauty products and I use their great smelling body lotions. 

Do you have a favourite candle? What kind of scents do you like?



Friday, 1 January 2016




FILM 1450: THE GIFT

TRIVIA: As he wanted to focus on directing, Edgerton filmed his own scenes as Gordo two weeks into shooting and completed them in seven days.

First feature film directed by Joel Edgerton.

Joel Edgerton not only directed and starred in this movie, he also wrote the script.