Pretties and Inspiration

I have something of a love/loathe relationship with IKEA.  On the one hand I'm not the world's biggest fan of all things mass produced and flat-packed, yet at the same time IKEA was one of the few places Tristan and I could afford to kit out our first apartment with 5 years ago while I was a poor student and he was being paid a pittance and the low prices helped us out no end.

Sometimes curiosity (and a meatball craving) get the better of me and I'll take up the offer of a trip to Nottingham's IKEA for lunch and a wander with T's Mum.  Try as I might to resist I'll always come away with a few goodies and on our most recent visit last month my yellow bag was bulging by the time we got to the checkout - partly as T's Aunt generously gave us a £20 voucher to spend, and partly because I spotted some gorgeous things.  I had to share one of them with you; behold the beautiful white filigree plant pot also known somewhat less poetically as 'Skurar'  . . . . . 

It yelled 'buy me' loudly, so loudly in fact, that at £1.99 it would have been rude not to.  Initially it housed a cape marigold, but since said marigold left for the great garden in the sky it has sat empty and elegant in the kitchen and I can't overstate how much I love it.

The notebook beneath it is also a recent find, one I've owned for a while yet had completely forgotten, poor thing.  I found it languishing at the bottom of a box still full - and handily tucked away behind a curtain in the spare room - from our move in November.  

It was given to me by a Uni friend as a 21st birthday present, has a fabulously glamorous Erté lady on the front and still has that lovely new notebook smell through having never been used until now.

After a ponderous cuppa I decided it was the perfect size to serve as an inspiration book; a place to stick snippets of pretty things from my ever growing stack of magazines or just images that catch my eye.  Also, any excuse for cuttin' an' a stickin' is a complete winner with me so I whipped out the scissors and my trusty Pritt-Stick in speedy-fast fashion. 

Have I mentioned how much I love glass?  Don't answer that, I'm at it again.  You may remember my biscuit jar à la Lady Sybil of Downton Abbey from a previous post, well it has a couple of mercury glass friends I've been meaning to post about for a little while.   

I'm yet to snap this one with a tea light burning inside but you can bet I'll be on the case shortly as it looks very pretty.  Not one of my thriftier buys but I couldn't help myself! 

The vase looks as though it was made by the same company as the lantern - I could be wrong but the local home shop I picked it up from do sell quite a few Gisela Graham bits and pieces so it could easily be one of hers.  Keeping an eye out for some pink roses to pop in it!

Happy Wednesday,

Jem x

Linking to: Open House Party at No Minimalist Here