Wedding Wednesday - Perfume!

With Christmas coming up I have been spying a lot of new perfume launches recently and it made me think about what kind of fragrance I would like to wear for my wedding. I know I would like to wear a more boutique fragrance rather than a mainstream one so I thought I would share with you the ones I am considering...

This Jo Loves Fragrance is by the lady behind the Jo Malone brand so I know it will be lovely. I'm particularly taken with the Orange Tulle flavour as its meant to be fun and flirty and a very feminine scent.

joloves.com

I love Diptyque Candles so have been dying to try the perfumes for ages. I think I would love this Philosykos scent which is meant to be fresh and sensual.

http://www.diptyqueparis.co.uk/

Finally I am also dying to try the Miller Harris Brand. They always have these products in my favourite range of hotels so I  know they are lovely. This Coeur_d'ete scent is meant to be a gentle and blossoming fragrance.

Miller Harris

I'll report back soon!

Rachie xo

Tuesday Tales from the Week!

Hi everyone!

I've been out and about lots this week - Here are my Tuesday Tales!

The Mr and I went to see Legally Blonde at The Savoy Theatre. It was sooo much fun! Such an uplifting show and great songs too. Do go and see it if you get a chance.

A Chi Chi Affair

Met a good friend at The South bank. I loved the way The Royal Festival hall was lit up for Christmas. It looked so pretty!

A Chi Chi Affair

My good friend Will came to dinner on Saturday and I bought these pretty flowers that I arranged in my mirror cube vase.  I liked the contrast of the roses and the thistles.

A Chi Chi Affair

Have a fab week!

Rachie xo

Autumn Wedding Styled Shoot

Hi everyone!

Happy Monday! I love this Autumn Wedding Styled Shoot. I think the colours are so lovely for this time of year. You don't see yellow and purple together very often but surprisingly it just works so well for Autumn as it looks really cosy together.

My favourite details here are all the natural textures, the wool wrapped around the flower vases looks so chic. I love the cinnamon stickers on top of the hot mulled wine too. I think I might try and incorporate this into  my Christmas decor.

Grey Likes Wedding

Grey Likes Wedding

Grey Likes Wedding

Grey Likes Wedding

Click over to Grey Likes Weddings for more pictures.

What do you think of the purple and yellow colour scheme?

Rachie xo

Fabulous Friday Food: Ginger Champagne Sparkle

I love cocktails - I'm much more a a cocktail fan than a wine fan and I love mixing my drinks. This lovely recipe for Ginger Champagne Sparkle is just up my street and its also a gives a touch of winter to your bubbles which would be lovely for Thanksgiving or Christmas!  Click her for the recipe that I found on Style Me Pretty.

Its simple to make too and you can store the syrup in the fridge for a month so could make now in time for Christmas!

Martha Stewart

Happy Weekend!

Rachie xo

DIY Christmas Wreaths

Because I have already had my Christmas edition of both Living Etc Magazine and Red Magazine (my favourites!) my thoughts are already turning to holiday decorating. There are some great ideas around this year and whilst looking for decorations to purchase I found this lovely Whole Orange Wreath which really jumped out at me as I'm thinking of going for some quite rustic Christmas decor.  Its a really reasonable price too.

www.prettybeautiful.co.uk

It also got me thinking whether I could make one of these myself but sadly I couldn't find a similar tutorial anywhere.  I did find this how to on drying whole oranges so I'm sure this would help. I will keep looking but do share if you find one.

I  found some really contemporary wreath ideas on Martha Stewart.com.  My favourites are this brilliant pinup wreath for indoors which is a brilliant idea to display all your Christmas cards. Find the how to here.

And given my love for Popcorn I also found this really fun popcorn wreath.  I love the white of the popcorn against that thick red ribbon! Lovely to hang in the kitchen!

Happy Thursday!

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - Wedding Hair

I think I posted about hair in the early days of getting engaged but because the time is now getting closer I've been giving it much more thought. My hairdresser has also moved to a very lovely new salon and I paid them a visit last week. It was so nice to chat all things wedding in a more relaxing environment.

So here are my thoughts so far. I'm definitely wearing a veil and I think I'll be wearing my hair down or at least in a relaxed loose style.   I have a fringe so I definitely want to incorporate that too.

Here are some of my inspiration pictures so far!

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

What do you think? Hair up or down?  It would be great to know your thoughts...

Rachie xo

Tuesday Tales from the week!

Hi everyone!

This past week has been a quiet one actually, I went down with a bit of cold earlier in the week so was feeling a bit under the weather. All better now though! Here are my Tuesday tales...

As promised I managed to make the flapjacks from this post on Friday. They were really delicious and I've got loads left over! ;-)

A Chi Chi Affair

We also went out for a lovely roast at the pub on Sunday. It was the best one I have had in ages. Roast Pork and Yorkshire pudding - Yum!

A Chi Chi Affair

And just so this post isnt just all about food!  Here is a picture of me stripping wallpaper in our master bedroom. Such a big and messy job but hopefully we'll finish it soon so we can get painting!

A Chi Chi Affair

Hope you all have lovely weeks!

Rachie xo

Candy Corn Birthday Party

The lovely Abbey from The Cards We Drew sent in this Candy Corn themed second birthday which provides loads of inspiration for this time of year. Thank you so much Abbey!

I particularly love how she has used the same colour palate of yellow and orange throughout as it really pulls everything together. The food table is just so well constructed with the birthday cake as the centrepiece and then varying heights either side. Oh and I love the pumpkins dotted throughout.

All the printables in this are from Dimpleprints and they fit the theme so perfectly. Other details I love are the hand painted wooden cutlery and those three toned paper poms! Beautiful!

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

The Cards We Drew

Well done Abbey. Love the family picture and you did such a great job on this party! Do click over to The Cards We Drew for more pictures and information.

If you have a party you would like me to feature then do send it in to achichiaffair@gmail.com. I love seeing them!

Happy Monday

Rachie xo

Fabulous Friday Food: Skinny Choc Chip Cherry Flapjacks

I was thinking the other day that I haven't had any flapjacks in ages! My mum used to make them all the time when we were little and they were a school lunchbox staple. I like my flapjacks quite crunchy and the ones you buy are always a bit stodgy and just not the same as home made ones.

So while searching for a recipe I came across this lovely one for Skinny Chocolate Chip Cherry Flapjacks by Red Online. I thought the fact that they are skinny is an extra bonus as it means they are (sort of!) healthy! They also contain apricots too!

I'll definitely be making these on the weekend - They are perfect to share with friends and I thought they would be a lovely thanksgiving or Christmas gift wrapped in brown paper and tied with a red ribbon.

Red Online

Click here for the recipe and loads of other lovely recipes too!

Happy Weekend!

Rachie xo

Countdown to Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and I really love this time of year especially decorating the house!  I haven't had an advent calender for a few years now but I spotted this lovely one over at Cox and Cox which is I may just invest in.  It would look really cute against the green walls of our kitchen...  Oh and its even half price at the moment!

Cox and Cox

Or why not have a go at making one,like this cute one here made with clothes pegs! Its super simple to make and you can even download templates for the numbers.  Click over to this lovely blog for the full tutorial.

http://limegreenbogiegirl.blogspot.com/

Finally why not try something different by hiding treats inside these paint tins like this. This looks so stylish and you can hide some great treats inside. Use the mini tester pots sprayed white for a chic effect or just use regular tins! You could cover them with craft paper too?

http://roomenvy.wordpress.com/

Do you have an advent calender?

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - Take your seat!

I've been having a think this week about table settings and how we are going to display our escort cards or table plan. I've always liked escorts cards as they are a bit more unusual in the UK and I like the way that there are many different ways to display them.

Here are some of my favourites! I like these old fashioned tags against the back ground of stripy black and white. This really plays into my colour scheme.

These frames look so stylish and we could drape the ribbon over as demonstrated in the below post.

I also like these little envelopes. It would be quite exciting to open them and see where you are sitting!

What do you think? Do share the table plans you had if you are married, would love to hear!

Rachie xo

Tuesday Tales from the Week!

Hi everyone!

Its been such a busy week and it feels like Christmas is fast approaching! I need to start Christmas shopping! Eek!

Here are my Tuesday tales...

Had a shopping break on the weekend at one of my fave cafes and devoured this delicious dessert. It was yummy!

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

Spied these lovely cushions in Laura Ashley. Love the London scene.

A Chi Chi Affair

Purchased this new washing basket from H&M home in an attempt to make doing the washing more stylish!!

A Chi Chi Affair

Hope you have a lovely week!

Rachie xo

Autumn Harvest Party

I'm having a bit of a love affair with all the Autumn colours around at the moment and this party for Harvest is no exception. It also gives you some great thanksgiving decorating ideas if you are celebrating.

My favourite bits are the abundance of different fruits and vegetables and edible items used as decor. Look at those lovely green apples on the tables and in jars and those artichokes look so pretty. They are almost like flowers! Love the addition of the cinnamon sticks and the beds of black eyed beans and lentils that some of the food sits on. This is such a clever idea.

The various props also help bring this to life like that antiqued mirror and the vintage scales and the wheat arrangements. Its just brilliant!

Hostess blog

Hostess blog

Hostess blog

Hostess blog

Hostess blog

For more details and the write up then click on over to Hostess Blog for this great post!

Happy Monday!

Rachie xo

Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn

I'm not sure if I have shared this before but I am a big fan of popcorn! Its only in the last few years I have really got into it but I always keep the microwave sweet version in the cupboard for emergencies. I've been know (quite often!) to eat a whole bowl in one session!

For the Halloween soiree last week I bought some Sour cream and Jalapeno flavoured popcorn that I had never tried before and it was so delicious it got me thinking of other flavours so I hunted out another recipe that I thought I would share with you. Hope you like it!

This one for Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn by the lovely Sassy Suppers Blog looks so yummy so do click over to get the recipe.   It would also be lovely as a topping for ice cream perhaps!

Sassy Suppers

Happy Weekend All

Rachie xo

My Halloween and Firework Autumn Soiree!

Last weekend I had a little low key Halloween/Firework party for family and close friends at our house. It was mostly for the little ones but  I had fun dressing the table in an Autumn theme! I thought I would share with you a few pictures.

I bought some checked orange fabric to use as a tablecloth and  the centrepiece for the table were these red leaves and orange berries from the local florist. I thought they made quite a dramatic decoration and were very in keeping with the season.   You can see the mantelpiece behind that I decorated last week in this post here.

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

I made a cranberry punch using cranberry juice, ginger ale and lime juice and put little lychee's in it to look like eyeballs! The kids loved them and it looked suitably spooky. I used my grandparents old punch bowl that I recently inherited. I love it - its so classic and I hope to use it for many years to come. The little cups are so cute.


A Chi Chi Affair


I also made this Halloween spooky chocolate cake from The Hummingbird Bakery cookbook called The Brooklyn Blackout cake.  It was super chocolatey and although the layers didn't rise as much as I hoped, it still tasted yummy!

A Chi Chi Affair


 Other decor included my little silver Owl and some small pumpkins with my black and white napkins, some stripy napkins from Ikea left over from last year which I thought fitted quite nicely and little spider cakes made using liquorice and orange pumpkin mini cupcake cases.

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

Did you have any festivities for Halloween or Bonfire Night?

Rachie xo