WHAT I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS 2018

 Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and all the best for 2019.

Before I start, I'd like to say that I am in no way bragging about what I got- I am very lucky to have received some lovely presents and am grateful to everyone who bought me them. This is purely so people can be nosy and see what I got or get some ideas for gifts they might like or might like to get someone.

Now that the disclaimer is out the way, let's crack on with the blog. My main present from my parents was this gorgeous pair of Fairfax and Favor Henley Driving shoes. They are so stylish and look great with any outfit.
I got this Hiho Silver leather bracelet which looks really pretty and is quite simple too, so it goes with lots of outfits. It is only £20 as well!
Also pictured is my Rydale Polly Checked Scarf in the colour gunmetal. It is so cosy and is reasonably priced at £10.

I was really excited to receive my 2019 subscription to In The Country Magazine which I am very excited about. I have been loving Hollie-Ella's magazine this year and can't wait to see what next year's issues will bring. The 2019 In The Country Calendar with illustrations by Rosie Young was another perfect gift which I am excited to use in the New Year.
The feather hairpin is by High Bird Designs and features a shotgun cartridge with colourful game feathers. I am excited to wear this at various events this year.
I also received the Cartridge Fairy Lights by High Bird Designs but I haven't got a picture of them up yet. 
The hedgehog is from The Imaginarium in York and is supposed to be a Christmas tree decoration but I am definitely keeping him up all year! He's too cute!

This shirt is from Crew Clothing and looks really nice. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet but will post some pics on Instagram when I do! The frog bathbomb is by Bomb Cosmetics and the perfume is BonBon by Viktor & Rolf.

I got a fair few bits and bobs from Rydale, including the scarf that I mentioned before. I also got a pair of Roxby Canvas Trainers in the 'Spotty Navy' variant. These are only £19.99 and are really comfy.
 The shirts are in Sally Pink and Lucy Grape and are 2 for £25. I love wearing these with my new Garton II Fleece Gilet. It looks lovely and has the warmest fleece lining ever! It kept me nice and toasty on Boxing Day.
Finally, my pyjamas are so comfy and look really nice too! Mine match my new shirt and have a pheasant on the top but you can also get a set with a dog or horses too.

I also got some Pandora charms and various other bits and bobs and I'll probably put some pictures up on my story highlights if you'd like to have a look.

For those of you who don't know, I've created a separate Instagram account for my blog and have decided to keep my original account more personal. You're still more than welcome to follow my personal account (@charlottebrown23) but I will be posting all blog related things over on @thatmardyyorkshirelass now. I also have a Facebook page, just search 'That Mardy Yorkshire Lass'.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you all got what you wished for and had a happy and healthy Christmas. Christmas is a difficult time for some people and my love and best wishes go out to everyone who struggled through this time.

Until next time,

Charlotte x

COUNTRY CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE- HOMEWARE AND FOOD

 Hello and welcome to yet another gift guide blog!
It seems like these Christmas gift guides are going on forever! But I promise this is the last one!
This one is all about bits and bobs you could get various people, for example a couple you know, your parents or someone you know that loves homewares.

I've seen some lovely framed designs by The Pleasant Pheasant using feathers and I think these would look so pretty in the home. I absolutely love these below and would love one of these in my house! Aren't they pretty? This would be a perfect gift for anyone into shooting.

Another very talented artist I came across on Instagram is Chellelysha. These tweed designs look amazing and I'd love to have one of my own. I really like this one below, but there are loads of other designs available so you can pick and choose!

Laloa is another amazing business I found on Instagram and the very talented Liz Murray has all sorts of amazing products with her lovely designs on. I love this lampshade, but there are so many other things available such as mugs and cushions as well.

High Bird Designs recently started these cartridge fairy lights and I think they are so cool! They look really pretty and add a real country twist to any room. These are on my Christmas list! 

Last year I featured Wrendale Designs and I'm featuring them again this year because I think the pieces are so cute and look lush in a kitchen. I love the pheasant design and the hedgehog design.We have a few other Wrendale pieces at home as well.

Something that I got last year and will be asking for again this year is a subscription to In The Country Magazine. Hollie-Ella has created a beautiful magazine featuring all things country and a subscription would be the perfect gift for someone who loves all things country.

FOOD & DRINK

If you're buying for a food lover, I would definitely recommend Wensleydale Cheese. There are so many flavours available, including the new Yorkshire Wensleydale with Ginger and Jamaican Rum and the Yorkshire Wensleydale with Caramelised Orange and Masons Yorkshire Gin. My personal favourites are the classic Yorkshire Wensleydale as well as Fountains Gold Cheddar, which is so creamy and rich. The Creamery do hampers like the one below, alternatively you could make your own hamper. Here's a list of suggestions for what to put in your homemade hamper:

-Cheese (obviously!)
-Chutney
-Fruitcake
-Gin
-Prosecco
-Wine
-Biscuits
-Crackers
-Chocolate
-Sweets
-Teabags
-Hot Chocolate
-Nuts
-Dates

Masons Yorkshire Gin is so nice and there are so many unique flavours available, including tea and lavender! Gin is essential over the festive period and is becoming more and more popular! If you can't decide which gin to get, why not get a 'taste experience' pack which comes with six different 5cl flavours (Original, Tea Edition, Lavender Edition, Peppered Pear, Slow Distilled Sloe and Steve's Apple). The gin is available online or in selected supermarkets (I know Morrison's in York definitely have it!)

Alternatively, a nice bottle of pink gin would be a lovely gift for anyone. I like Gordon's pink gin and I know that it is getting more and more popular at the moment. During Blogmas I will be suggesting some Christmas cocktails as well so keep your eyes peeled for that blog coming up! I will also be doing a mulled wine recipe as well.


Thank you for reading! The next blog will be up later today and will be the first in the Blogmas series!

Until next time,

Charlotte x

OCTOBER FAVOURITES 2018

Hello everyone!

I know it's still October now, but I thought I'd get this blog out of the way before I started with all my Christmas Gift Guide blogs (which I am so excited to share with you!)

This month I received my Autumn edition of In The Country Magazine, a beautifully put together magazine featuring all things country. This will also be featuring in my Christmas Gift Guides as well! Each magazine is beautifully packaged with confetti, tissue paper and tied with string and a wooden heart.

Wild & Westbrooke is a ladies country clothing store that has recently opened in York. Last week I went to pay them a visit. You can read more about my experience in my previous blog 'Christmas shopping In York'. I will certainly be doing some Christmas shopping here!

I know I've mentioned them so many times before but I'm mentioning them again. High Bird Designs create amazing bespoke feather brooches and hat pins as well as necklaces and baubles (look out in next week's blog for some feathery baubles!)
Currently, High Bird Designs are on the lookout for a new brand ambassador to promote their page. If you're interested, head over to their Instagram page to find out more!

I won an Instagram competition by Radox and received a box with some of their new products in. I received two bags of bath salts and three bottles of bath oil. I'm excited to have a nice bath and use these!

Another thing that arrived this week in the post were these! I waited ages for them to be released on the website and I'm so surprised I managed to get my hands on some. Thanks to Mrs Hinch for making everyone go crazy (myself included) about cleaning products and the famous 'Minkeh'. I'm excited to use them.

That's all for this blog, sorry it was a short one. My gift guides will hopefully start to appear this week. Thank you all for reading!

Until next time,

Charlotte x

JUNE FAVOURITES 2018

Hello everybody, after a long break whilst doing my A level exams, I am back with many ideas to blog about. I can't believe how quickly this year is going and that we're already in July!
Today's blog is about my favourite brands and products that I've been using in June.


Firstly, I've been loving products by Treacle Moon. I like how all the bottles have a short paragraph relating to the name and scent of the product. It makes the product really unique and stand out. I've used Treacle Moon's products for several years now and have never been disappointed! I'm especially loving 'The Raspberry Kiss' at the moment as it smells so lovely! Each bottle is only £3 as well which is an absolute bargain for the amount of shower/bath gel you get.

The Raspberry Kiss

As I've finished college now, I've been going out more and going to more parties. This means my hair is straightened and curled more and more and when I get back home it's often too late to get washed. So I've been using loads of Batiste dry shampoo which works wonders in making my hair feel cleaner and more refreshed after a night out! And as festival season is upon us, dry shampoo is absolutely essential! I like the 'Floral and Flirty Blush' scent as it's very summery and fresh. Pictured as well is my Juice Sound Square. It's really small and portable but the sound quality is really good! As well as this, the battery lasts forever! I hardly ever charge mine but I don't need to worry about it shutting off whilst playing music. I like to use my Sound Square when I have friends round to play some background music and it works really well outside too. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth and I've found that the range is quite far as well. Mine is pink (I seem to have a theme of pink in this blog at the moment but it is coincidental!) but they are available in eight different colours.

Batiste Dry Shampoo
Juice Sound Square

I'm so glad I've finished college because it means I have more time to read. Reading for pleasure is something I've really missed this year but I'm excited to tuck into my reading list! Cathy Cassidy has recently released another book called Sami's Silver Lining which is the sequel to Love From Lexie in the Lost and Found series. I've been a Cathy Cassidy fan since I was little and helped her at a book signing in York in 2013. I'm still a huge fan and read this book in a few hours the other night. I was overwhelmed by emotion at how beautifully the book was written and how heartbreaking the story was. (A more detailed review of the book by me will be available on Cathy's blog soon- http://cathycassidydreamcatcher.blogspot.com/ )

I'm also very excited about this season's issue of In The Country Magazine which arrived last week. I love flicking through a good quality magazine with a brew and if you're into all things quintessentially British, then Hollie-Ella's magazine is perfect for you.

I recently got the Joules Darby tweed saddle bag that matches my purse and skirt. It works really well as an everyday bag as well as working well as an evening bag when you want to dress up a bit. I like how it has pockets as well so it's harder to lose my keys!

I am a huge fan of Joma Jewellery and recently got the 'A Little Positivity' bracelet from my parents for finishing my exams. If you look on the website, they have a bracelet for every occasion under their 'A Little' section. The jewellery is simple and pretty and the bracelets can be stacked up as well.

A Little Positivity Bracelet

Finally, Oasis (the drink, not the band!) have produced a #Togetherness bottle which is a double ended bottle of the classic summer fruits drink. There were only 200 bottles available and I managed to win one on Twitter. The aim of the bottle is to bring people closer together as they have to work out how to drink from both ends without spilling any. I haven't tried this yet but imagine it will be difficult!

Oasis Togetherness Campaign

And that's everything for my June favourites! Hopefully I'll be back to blogging more regularly now that I have a bit more time to do so.

Charlotte x

Holiday Highlights- Christmas 2017

Hello everybody and Happy New Year!

In this blog I'm going to be sharing some of my favourite decorations, gifts I received and Christmas moments.

We had three trees in our house this year- two artificial and one real pine tree.

Of course, the real tree was my favourite and it featured some beautiful baubles and decorations that we bought this year.

Most of the decorations on the tree were bought from York on various market stalls, but we also bought some beautiful pheasant feather baubles from High Bird Designs.

                                                                                      

High Bird Designs

               

  I also received some other pieces by High Bird Designs, including the Sterling Silver Pheasant Necklace and a Feather Pin which is on my new Rydale Tweed Jacket.

High Bird Designs Pheasant Necklace

Rydale Tweed Jacket

Another favourite was my Mackenzie and George Wycombe Shotgun Shell belt with my initials embossed in gold.

M&G Wycombe Shotgun Shell Belt

I also received a subscription to In The Country Magazine for 2018 and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Hollie-Ella's work!

After Christmas, we went to see Mia McKenna Bruce performing in Jack and the Beanstalk at Tennants in Leyburn. The pantomime was really good and we got a chance to take some photos with the actors at the end too (featuring my new Rydale jacket and Jack Wills scarf)

I'm very grateful for everything I received this year and had a lovely Christmas with my family. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I'd like to wish you all the best for 2018 (a little bit late on the bandwagon, I know).

Charlotte x

P.S. Cheeky self-promo here but I've recently created a photography Instagram account so if you'd like to check that out it's @cebphotography23

 

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE- LASSES

Hello! It's that time of year where Michael Bublé begins to defrost and everyone starts panicking about buying gifts for family and friends. I've decided to write three Christmas Gift Guide blogs to help out those who are a bit stuck for ideas this year! This is a gift guide for lasses and I'll also be doing one for lads and another for dogs. I hope you enjoy and find it useful!

 ******************************************************************************
The first item is the Wistow Printed Shirt in Pheasant White, which is on my Christmas list. I absolutely love the Rydale shirt collection as there's so much choice and they're all so affordable! The Wistow Shirts are priced at £29.99 which is a bargain.

Rydale Wistow Printed Shirt (pheasant)

Equally, the Wistow Printed Shirt in Hare White is also gorgeous and an ideal present for a friend, sister or mother. I'm getting my mother this shirt for Christmas because she's been making several hints now!

Rydale Wistow Printed Shirt (hare)

I also love the Hannah Country Shirts as they're so comfy and are at the brilliant price of £14.99 or two for £25! They're perfect for everyday wear or you could dress them up for a casual meal out as well!

Rydale Hannah Shirts

 ******************************************************************************

If you're looking for a more high-end shirt, the Schoffel Surrey Shirt would make a lovely gift. It is also reduced from £59.95 down to £42 at Millbry Hill, so go and grab yourself a bargain whilst you still can!

Schoffel Surrey Shirt

*******************************************************************************

 Another thing on my Christmas list is the Fairford Tweed Purse by Joules in the colour 'tan check'. It would be a perfect gift for a girlfriend, mother or grandmother or even as a treat for yourself! Every shop I've been in recently has had this in stock and I've been wanting it for soooo long!

Joules Fairford Tweed Purse

*******************************************************************************

I absolutely love the Wycomb Shotgun Shell Belt from Mackenzie and George, it's such a classic piece with a real country twist. I think all of Mackenzie and George's products are beautiful and I've got my fingers crossed for finding this under the tree! I have the Fedora in navy and a feather hat pin which I think would also make a great Christmas gift as they're such great quality!

Wycomb Shotgun Shell Belt

Navy Felt Fedora

 ********************************************************************************
 I recently discovered High Bird Designs and if you haven't already, I really recommend that you go and check out the Etsy shop! I fell in love with the necklaces, which are stunning and really affordable at only £15 each! I bought my friend the Horse Stirrup and Crop necklace for her birthday and she loved it. I'd really like the Pheasant necklace for Christmas...(hint, hint...)

Pheasant Pendant Necklace

Stirrup and Crop Necklace

********************************************************************************

A perfect gift idea is Wrendale Designs by Royal Worcester. My mother is obsessed with these designs, especially the hedgehog! I love the pheasant and badger designs as well.

Wrendale Designs Awakening Mug

Wrendale Designs Lord of the Woods Mug

********************************************************************************

A perfect idea for a stocking filler are these gorgeous Rice Mice by Heart of the Dales. We're lucky enough to know Jackie who makes these and every year stock up on mice and other gifts for presents. We also keep a few aside to decorate our house and our collection is ever growing! The mice come in three sizes- small, large and doorstop.

Christmas Rice Mice by Heart of the Dales

********************************************************************************

I was also really excited to receive my copy of In The Country Magazine and would really recommend a subscription for 2018. For just £24.99 including postage and packaging, you can subscribe to and get the UK's newest country lifestyle magazine, showcasing all things quintessentially country delivered directly to your door. I was gutted to miss out on the first issue of In The Country, so a subscription would be perfect to make sure you don't miss out on another issue!

In The Country Magazine 2018 Subscription

**********************************************************************************

And finally, a more expensive gift idea would have to be a Schoffel Lyndon Fleece Gilet. I have the Navy colour but also have my eye on the Ruby colour! My Schoffel Gilet is probably one of my favourite items of clothing as it's so warm and comfy. I'm wearing mine now as I write this and the fleece material is so soft to lounge in as well as being practical for the outdoors. The gilet has two zipped pockets which are ideal for keeping your phone and money safe. I would really recommend these if you're able to afford one, however they are on the pricey side- retailing at £139.95!

Schoffel Lyndon Fleece Gilet Navy

Schoffel Lyndon Fleece Gilet Ruby

***********************************************************************************

I hope some of you found this useful, and keep a look out for my other Christmas Gift Guides for Lads and Pets which will both be coming shortly!

Thank you for reading!

Charlotte x