My Halloween Decor

Hi all!

Happy Monday! Hope you had a fun filled Halloween. We're actually doing a Halloween/Fireworks party next weekend for all our family but I couldn't resist putting up a few Autumnal/Halloween decorations!

I decorated the mantelpiece with these cute pumpkins which really popped against my white lanterns, the silver bowl and the owl that I picked up from TK Maxx

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

I also created a little Autumn tablescape with some black and white napkins bought in South Africa. I thought they looked suitably spooky!  I used my white vases and filled them with some branches from the garden and added a bowl full of apples and some gold coasters (from Zara Home) to tie it all together!

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

 I  love how it turned out - I thought it looked really Autumnal!  I cant wait to show you my Halloween/Fireworks Party next weekend!

Rachie xo

Fabulous Friday Food: Pumpkin buttercream cupcakes

Everyone loves cupcakes and I thought that these pumpkin butter cream cupcakes found over on I am Baker were a really lovely idea for a Halloween party or Autumn afternoon tea.

The chocolate Halloween toppers on the top of the cakes are really easy to make and such a fun way to give the cakes that spooky touch!!

I am baker

Click over to I am Baker for the full recipe and loads more pictures!

Are you having a Halloween Party?

Rachie xo

DIY Caramel Apple Kit

The Oh Happy Day blog always have the cutest ideas and makes, and this one for a DIY Apple Caramel kit is no exception!

I thought this would be so cute to give as party bags or favours for a kids Halloween soiree or it could even be a fun party activity. Its super easy to make and don't you think it looks adorable presented in the white boxes? Perfect for Autumn.

Click here for the ingredients and the how to!

Happy Thursday!

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - All about the flowers!

I know I have talked lots about flowers but I have been meeting a number of florists over the past few weeks so I thought I would share where I have got to!

I have narrowed down my favourite flowers and they are:

Peonies
Garden Roses
Hydrangea
Anenomes
Ranunculas

All of these flowers are to be included in varying shades and colours!

I have been taking this flower moodboard to the florists.

A Chi Chi Affair

I especially love the black and white tied details and the fluffy hand tied shape. We are also thinking of including mini protea buttonholes for the men if we can get them!

Do you like the moodboard?

Rachie xo

PS: I've been guesting over at Florence Finds - Do take a look here!

Tuesday Tales from the Week!

Hi lovelies!

Well its properly turning to Autumn now and the nights are really drawing in  Here's my tales from this week.

My mummy sent me this lovely bunch of flowers full of pink roses and chrysanthemums. Gorgeous! Its got pride of place on the kitchen table.

A Chi Chi Affair

My sister cooked this gorgeous Indian turkey curry meal from one of my Fantastic Friday Food recipes! It was absolutely yummy!

A Chi Chi Affair 

Finally I went for cocktails at the glam W hotel with my lovely and talented friend Will from Bright Bazaar. We had such a lovely time and chatted the night away!

A Chi Chi Affair

Hope you had a lovely week!

Rachie xo

A Twilight meets Sleepy Hollow Wedding

I love this wedding based on Twilight and Sleepy Hollow. Its the perfect example of how to do Autumn decor stylishly and there are some great ideas for your halloween table. They have kept the colour palate muted and I love all the rustic tones. Against the backdrop of the mountains this is stunning!

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

http://www.brandonkidd.net/ via Green Wedding Shoes

Hope this gives you some Halloween inspiration!

For more pictures of this gorgeous wedding then go on over to Green Wedding Shoes here

Rachie xo

Fabulous Friday Food: Glittery Gold Chocolate Cake

This could be the most WOW chocolate cake I have ever seen!! Its actually four layers (!) so its not exactly quick to make but does it ever make a statement?!!!  I think it would be perfect for Halloween as it's really got that dark dramatic look going on!

It contains an olallieberry butter cream (which is very similar to a blackberry) and then dark chocolate ganache topping and finished with gold edible glitter. Yummy!

Desserts for breakfast

Its  from the blog Desserts for Breakfast that I found via cakeeventsblog. Do click over to both blogs for the recipe and for loads of other delicious recipes

Happy Weekend!

Rachie xo

Halloween Party Printables

There are lots of Halloween party printables all around the web but I think some of the nicest I have seen are from one of my fave blogs The Sweetest Occasion.  They strike a great balance between scary and stylish.

I love the black and white colour palate and I think they would be gorgeous for a Halloween dinner or a grown up drinks soiree.   I was thinking as well as using them as stickers as per the picture below they could also be mounted as card and used as coasters.

The Sweetest Occasion

The Sweetest Occasion 

Download  the templates here.

Are you planning a Halloween Party?

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - If the dress fits!

This is a very exciting Wedding Wednesday indeed as I have extremely exciting news!! I have found my wedding dress!  Its been ordered, I've paid the deposit and its arriving in the store next year! EEK!

I actually found 'the one' when I went dress shopping on my own a few months ago. It was the day I had left my permanent job after nine years to go freelance and I guess I was sort of embarking on a new chapter in my life.  Its fitting really as I guess the dress symbolises embarking on a new life in some ways too.  I wanted to do something to take my mind off leaving and booked myself in to go wedding dress shopping.

I had read all the magazines and blogs about finding your dress and knowing it was the one and to be honest I didn't really believe it. I thought I would find more than one that I liked and would need to choose. However for me that wasn't the case. I could see that many of the dresses looked nice but this was the only one I was serious about and that I loved. It is exactly how I thought I would look on the day.  Nothing else I tried on compared.

Two more trips later - the final one culminating in my mum and sisters seeing it and we were all sold. I made the purchase, the most expensive dress I have ever owned and the most lovely too.

A Chi Chi Affair

I'm so happy that I found it! Roll on next year!

Tell me about your wedding dresses - did you love them?

Rachie xo

PS: I've been moonlighting over on The Wedding blog Rock my Wedding - do click over to have a read and leave a me a comment!

Tuesday Tales from the Week!

Hi all!

I've had such a lovely week! Here is what I got up to...

A very exciting day on Saturday and you can see tomorrow on Wedding Wednesday what I got up to...      :-)  The afternoon culminated in a delicious afternoon tea at Cannizaro House. Look at the delicious treats that we ate! The scones were particularly yummy!

A Chi Chi Affair

The dining room where the afternoon tea was served was so striking! I especially liked the red walls and all the contemporary art on the walls

A Chi Chi Affair

It was a lovely Autumn day on Sunday so H2B took the opportunity to do some clearing in the garden! Look how hard he worked!!

A Chi Chi Affair

The trees are turning in the garden. I love Autumn - its so pretty!

A Chi Chi Affair

Have a happy week!

Rachie xo

I am really excited about Halloween this year as we are having a little Halloween/Fireworks party at our house. Its only a small affair - just a little gathering mainly for the numerous nephews and friends little ones, and just an excuse to have a bit of get together really!

Anyway I've been having a think about Halloween decor and have decided I like the more rustic Halloween style just like this little Halloween dessert table below. I love the pumpkins spray painted white and the black and the white cakes with the rustic orange ribbon tied around the bottom all set against the woodland brown tablecloth So much inspiration here!

The Sweetest Occasion 

The Sweetest Occasion 

The Sweetest Occasion 

The Sweetest Occasion 

The Sweetest Occasion 

Click over to The Sweetest Occasion for more pictures.

I cant wait to show you how the party goes in a few weeks!

Rachie xo

Fabulous Friday Food: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I'm having a very small halloween /fireworks party at my house this year and I've been searching for some cute recipes to bake. I've been wanted to try out the cannned pumpkin that I found in Waitrose for a while now as its been sitting in my cupboard  for ages! This recipe is the perfect excuse!!

I found the recipe over at Camille Styles and its from the fabulous Jess from Forgiving Martha - I love her recipes and her photography is also gorgeous!

Forgiving Martha via Camille Styles

I cant wait to try these and post the pics! Click over here for the recipe!

Happy Weekend

Rachie xo

Golden Nails - A tutorial!

Here is something new for A Chi Chi Affair - a really cute nail varnish tutorial, I've had a bit of a love affair with nail varnish recently and I am loving the gold. I have a great Models Own Glitter Gold on my toes as we speak. So I came across this golden nail tutorial and I couldnt resist posting it as I knew some of you would love it as much as me!

I love the sparkles over the nail colour - super chic!

This come courtesy of  The Beauty Department blog.  Click here for the full how to!

http://jennabeth.tumblr.com/ via www.thebeautydepartment.com

What's your favourite nail colour?

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - A statement necklace!

One of things I would like to do on my wedding day is slightly change my look from day to evening, and I was thinking I might wear a statement necklace to add some drama to the proceedings!

Here are some that have caught my eye...

I love the sparkles with the different coloured pearls in this one. And its not expensive either!

talbots.com

I didn't even know that Kate Spade did jewellery but this one is stunning! So much drama

Katespade.com

Love the goldness of this one! And its so glam!

http://www.theyallhateus.com/

This one is exudes timeless glam - Its Valentino from Net a porter

Valentino at Net a porter

This one is so different I just had to feature it! Its by Anton Heunis and I love the precious stones and its intricacy.

http://www.antonheunis.com/collection2e.html

Do you have a favourite?

Rachie xo

Tuesday Tales from the Week - Some sights from Spain

I've been on a little holiday in Spain this past week. It was so relaxing and 30C everyday - Bliss!
We spent our days sunbathing on the beach, walking around Marbella old town which is so pretty, reading on the roof terrace of our boutique hotel with the mountains in the background and eating lots of seafood at some great restaurants.

Here are some pics - I just love all the colours.

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

We sat a while admiring the Dali statues in the town. So interesting!

A Chi Chi Affair

Love the yellow on this flamenco school - I call this Spanish orange!

A Chi Chi Affair

We admired the amazing boats at Puerto Banus. I'd like this one please!

A Chi Chi Affair

Happy Tuesday!

Rachie xo

Indian meets Western wedding!

I love love love all the colours in this Western meets Indian Wedding from Style me Pretty. Its such a riot of oranges, yellows and blues but it comes together so well. I also adore the use of all the patterns from the stationery, to the vases on the tables and all the linens. There are so many different textures here but they work so well together.

My favourite details are the use of the gold animals on each place and on the escort card table and the inspirational quotes dotted around. It really personalises the celebration and of course I adore the flowers - those yellow billy buttons really pop with the orange roses!

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

http://www.heandshephoto.com/  via Style Me Pretty

For more gorgeous pics click over here to Style Me Pretty!

Happy Monday!

Rachie xo