Having a House Rabbit

A couple of months ago, Adam and I gained a new addition to our little household - a very cute bunny rabbit called Sky. This has come with a very steep learning curve for me, as the only pets I have had previously were hamsters, gerbils and fish. All of which are very different to a house rabbit!

Sky is very cute when she's sleepy!

We got Sky from the adoption center at Pets at Home, we were told she was about 14 weeks, and unfortunately her owners had to give her up as they had developed allergies. To be completely honest, I don't think that was the problem, as they would have had her for at least a month before giving her up - I think the problem they had was because she is so hyper. I don't know if all rabbits are like Sky, but with her it's like having a toddler around! She is into absolutely everything, and if she's quite, she's probably doing something wrong!
However, she is also the sweetest, most loving little girl when she's not running around at a million miles an hour. Because we wanted Sky to be a house bunny, we knew it was important to train Sky straight away, we have done this with a combination on treats when she is well behaved, and a water spray for when she is naughty. This has been quite effective, and after a couple of days, we got her to stop chewing a carpet. Also one of the first priorities was litter box training. This has been quite successful - she still poos sometimes, but all her wee's are in the tray - which makes keeping her cage clean so much easier.

She has quite a large cage, but also if we go out for longer than a few hours for work then we also attach a big run, where we put a load of toys and hide treats for her. This area means that she has enough space to bounce about if she wants to, which is important if she is alone for a longer period of time.

To put this into perspective, her cage is 120cm wide! She has a nice big area!

When she is running around the living room (which is pretty much all the time we're in the flat) we always ensure all cables are out of reach, and block off areas like the back of the television etc so she can't hurt herself on anything.
Another thing which is worth mentioning about keeping a rabbit, is that you have to make sure they have a vets trip when you first get your bunny, they need a Myxomatosis and Rabbit (Viral) Haemorrhagic Disease (R(V)HD) vaccination if they are going to be outside. Also while they are getting their vaccinations, the vet will give your bunny a check up, and advise if they need any preventative treatments. One thing which your rabbit will need whether they are going to live inside or outside, is a fly strike preventative deodorant. My vet advised using Rearguard, and after reading a few rabbit forums (yes, I do that now) that seems like the most popular. Overall, having Sky in our lives is brilliant, I spend all my evenings in the living room with her, and although sometimes when she is going mental running around the room at a million miles an hour I may despair, its all forgotten when she comes and jumps on my knee, or decides to snuggle up next to my foot. However, I have to say that I definitely think the best route to having a happy bunny and happy bunny parents is training. Also we provide lots of mentally stimulating toys to keep her entertained, and ensure that she chews the things she is allowed to as opposed to my carpet and/or furniture!

Hi everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed this post, if you would like to see some more of Sky in the future, let me know!
Lots of love

July My Little Box: Road Trip

I have been a fan of My Little Box for several months - I reviewed their box in January, and always look forward to it turning up on my desk, to see what goodies they put inside, and what theme it is. The past couple have been slightly summer themed, which is great, and they are continuing with this with the July "My Little Road Trip Box".

The front of the box always has a cute image drawn by their artist Kanako

Contents (L-R) Notebook, Micellar Water, Essie Nail Polish, After Sun, Magazine, Travel Organiser, Pen, Box, Picture

Every box comes with a pretty picture/ quote

I love this travel organiser - its really cute and quirky

A notebook which can be sent as mail

Essie Nail Polish, Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water and After Sun

On thing that I really like about the My Little Box's is that although they usually only contain three beauty items, they are usually high quality. One of the products is always from their My Little Beauty range, and it's usually quite good, and then in this month there is a full sized Essie nail polish, and a 125ml bottle of Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - which although I am a Bioderma fan, I have been looking forward to trying! Do you get any subscription boxes? Let me know what you think of the My Little Box if you have received it this month. Lots of love

My new hobby: Learning about Wine

Do you ever feel a bit thick when you are having dinner in a nice place and the waiter asks if you want a drink? You think "hell yes" but manage to say "yes that would lovely thank you" and ask for a glass of wine. Then they present the wine list. Crap. What on earth do you do with this? Normally my method is look for the cheapest and then go a couple up from there, however this can be a little bit hit and miss! Therefore this summer I have decided to combat this issue, and do a very grown up thing: learn about wine. I am hopeful that part of this is going to involve tasting a lot of them.
My dad knows quite a lot about wine, however in a million years I am not going to ask him, as I would only end up finding out what his favourites are - and we have very different tastes. Also his stories go on for hourssssss. And I cannot cope.
Therefore option 2, is buying a book. This seems very doable! The first book I purchased was Leith's Guide to Wine. I bought this in an actual shop (I usually amazon everything) and flicked through a couple of different options, before deciding that the cover of this one would look good in my bookcase and I liked that it was broken down a lot. After getting it home, I realised that the first few sections were really interesting, but then it talks about the different areas where wines are grown and I got a bit bored. However, I think as I learn more it will become more useful though.

After this book I decided that going on Amazon was probably a good idea, and I picked up The Wine Pocket Bible and Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2015. The former has a really cute cover, and is designed for wine idiots like me and includes how to choose wine from restaurant wine lists, how to tell if a wine is corked, characteristics of all the main grape types, what styles of wine come from the world's major wine region, classic and up-and-coming wine producers from each region and the best way to store and serve wine. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2015 is the number one bestselling wine guide, and provides information on individual bottles of wine each year.

My aim is to learn enough about wine so that when I next go out with my dad, I can order a bottle of wine and have him enjoy it. This will undoubtedly benefit him more than me, but at least I won't feel like an idiot any more!
Do any of you know about wine? Or have any other hobbies you are taking up over the summer? Let me know in the comments!
Lots of love

Book Review: My Paris Dream

In the summer I definitely read a lot more books than I do in the winter, probably because it seems really weird to sit out in the sun and knit! One of the books I have recently finished is My Paris Dream, by Kate Betts. For those of you who don't know, Kate Betts is a fashion journalist, who was one of the youngest ever editors of Harpers Bazaar.

This autobiography chronicles Kate's life, starting when she finished high school and went inter-railing around Europe, stopping in Paris for two weeks. The book is extremely well written, and unlike many autobiographies I have read, I really did not want to put it down. I think it probably helps that I love Paris, and having been their a lot can relate to some of the places she discusses, and the slang she struggles with.

Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the story of growing up, finding your feet, and the realisation that you can't always have it all, as on several times in the book, Kate was working so hard on progressing her career, she let personal relationships suffer. I think this is something a lot of people can relate to, as it is often difficult balancing work and a personal life.
Overall, this book can appeal to a wide number of people, clearly if you have an interest in fashion, and want to build a career in that field the book will be of interest, as it shows an insight into the industry. Also anyone who loves Paris will definitely relate to the book, as I did - although she is American and struggled to fit into the culture, I think it is still relevant to brits, I know that I never felt anywhere near as chic as any Parisians when I was there, they definitely have that Je ne sais quoi!

I'm always after new books to read over the summer, and love autobiographies, so if there is anything similar to this that you know of, please let me know in the comments!
Lots of love

Summer Bedroom

As you may have gathered from some previous posts, I absolutely adore interior decorating, and love planning how my rooms are going to look and change from season to season.
For my new house, one of the rooms I have been debating about most is my bedroom, I have been considering colour scheme, furniture, bed styles, everything!
It has taken me a while to decide on the colour scheme, however as it isn't a very large room I new it would need to be light and bright; so I decided on white, light pink, grey and copper.

Found on Pinterest

One thing I definitely want in my room is white bedding, I just think it looks so crisp and clean, I love it. One of the sets I like is the Percale Venice set from Parachute.

Top 5 Accessories

1) Lighting

I'm a big fan of juxtaposing classic design with industrial features, and one of my favourite ways of doing that is through lighting. This one is from not on the high street.

2) Candles

I always love a variety of candles around my home, however my favourite bedtime scent has to be lavender, I use lavender fabric conditioner, lavender laundry spray, you name it I use it! One cute candle I have seen is from Parachute Home.

3) Shelving

One of the great ways to give a room a bit of a wow factor is to carefully design your shelving with statement pieces.

Found on Pinterest

4) Furniture

Continuing with the light and bright theme, I want white stained furniture in our bedroom, and the Hemnes set from Ikea is perfect.

5) Mirrors

I think that mirrors are the easiest way to maximise the amount of light in a room, as well as making a room seem larger. One of my favourite ways to use mirrors is to create a feature wall of several odd shape ones.

Found on Pinterest

If you want to see some more of my bedroom styling ideas, why not have a look at my Pinterest board!

Follow Briony Crew's board Bedroom Inspiration on Pinterest.

Comment below to let me know what you think of my plans! Lots of love *this post has been sponsored by Parachute Home

Men's Styling

In a slight change from my usual sort of posts I have decided to do a mens styling one! I have been with my boyfriend for nearly 4 years, and I would say that his style has evolved at about the same amount as mine - a lot! When Adam first met me I was quite the little rock chick, however I had a penchant for hoop earrings so large I could wear them as bracelets, it was an interesting look! Adam on the other hand pretty much lived in hoodies, trainers and jeans, whether he was at work or at home and dyed his hair jet black (he didn't like the fact he was greying). I'm so glad we have changed!
Adam's style now is now much smarter than it was, his everyday outfit is smart jeans, brown shoes and a shirt tucked in with a belt. I think this look is great, when he wants to dress it up he wears a smart shirt and sometimes a blazer, on more casual days it is a linen or checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Fit
The fit of clothes is everything, you can be wearing designer brands, but if they are too small or if there is material billowing, you will not look good. However you can make high street clothes look great if you are careful to buy the right size and cut for your body type, or alternatively take them to a tailer.
A couple of tips to get the right fit:

1. Shirts - you do not want buttons straining, and when you do up the collar button, please ensure you are not being strangled. However you also don't want any excess material, as it will interfere if you layer anything over it.
2. Jeans - there are lots of different fits for jeans, however a classic straight leg will never go out of fashion. Make sure the waist fits comfortably, when you do up your belt, you don't want any excess folding. Conversely you also don't want the waist too tight, as it will not be comfortable, and nobody likes a muffin top! To determine the perfect length for a pair of jeans, wear your shoes to try them on, they should just hit the top of the heal.
3. T-shirts - try it on and raise your arms, if you have more than half an inch of stomach showing, it's too short!
4. Jackets/ Coats - your shoulder should lie flat, and when you do up the top button, you are looking to see if the two sides meet neatly without the lapels hanging forward, or the lower edges of the jacket flaring out like a skirt. Also the button should close without strain, and there should be no wrinkles radiating out from it.

A great example of good tailoring from John Lewis.

Accessories
This is the area I think a lot of men struggle with - although you may put on a decent outfit in the morning, chances are you will then pick up a tatty rucksack and ruin the whole look. Another thing a lot of men don't appreciate enough is shoes; I think that just like women, shoes can make or break an outfit. To me it doesn't matter how much you spend on clothes, as long as they are well fitting and made of a decent material, they can be from Primark, Tesco, anywhere really and still look great! However, shoes are another story entirely, cheap shoes can usually be seen a mile off, and can ruin a great outfit. My top tip? Shop in the sale at the end of the season - i.e., buy classic boots in spring and keep them for the winter, buy leather boat shoes in September... you catch my drift? Also make sure you look after shoes, if you buy a nice set of Brogues or Oxfords, keep an eye on the soles and heals - getting them redone is a lot cheaper than buying a new set of shoes. Also buy some polish - look after that leather!
Top 5 Accessories
1) Watch
As many men don't wear a lot of jewellery a watch can be a great statement piece, and I think guys should have different watches for different occasions. This watch is great, it is the Trafalgar White from Lord Timepieces.

 2) Cufflinks

When a man wants to look really smart, he should be wearing a shirt with a set of cufflinks, and no - they are not allowed to be novelty cufflinks! These ones are from Lanvin.

 3) The Holdall

I have already mentioned using a rucksack with a suit, however another repeat offender is the holdall, while using a sports bag is perfectly acceptable when going to the gym, you should not take it with you to an overnight work trip. It is time to buy some leather goods! This one is from Mulberry.

4) Laptop Sleeve

Carrying technology is a part of life, however you can do better than a neoprene sleeve. This leather case is from Mr Porter and is designed for an 13" MacBook, it comes with slots for document storage as well.

 5) Tie

Every man needs a good quality tie, and this one from Hermès is perfect. Hermès is one of the best silk manufacturers, and their hand rolled ties, are world renowned.

If you want to see some other ideas for menswear and accessories, why not check out my Pinterest board!

Follow Briony Crew's board Male Style Inspiration on Pinterest.

Do you agree with my suggestions in this post? Do you think I have missed anything?
If you like this style of blog post, comment below to let me know. Lots of love