Erstwilder All Hallows Eve

 I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

The leaves are changing, it's the perfect time for reading under a cosy blanket, and Erstwilder's Halloween collection is finally here.

This year, they've released a fantastic throwback collection called All Hallows Eve based on the primitive Halloween characters from the turn of the 21st century, following a patchwork and hand-stitched style that was popular at the time. There are skeletons in bowler hats, cats and dogs dressed in sheets, pumpkin-headed witches, and frightful creatures galore.

I only bought one piece from the collection, because, y'know, cost of living and all that, but holy Jason Momoa, did I chose a good one.

Part pumpkin, part witch, I introduce to you The Stitched Witch; quite possibly one of my favourite brooch designs to date. With her black buckled hat and white-collared gown, she makes me think she's a pilgrim pumpkin witch, come to life to curse her pious accusers from the witch trials for stitching her mouth shut and sending her to her death. But maybe I'm just away with the fairies...

I love the textured resins used for this piece. The broom handle looks like it's made of wood, the pumpkin looks almost realistic, and the marbling in the gown gives the impression of flowing fabric. The stitched patch is a cute little addition, too. It's an all-round awesome design, and I'm obsessed with it. I can't stop wearing it.

My only disappointment with this brooch is that the one I received wasn't up to their usual standard of quality. It has at least seven little pin prick marks in the resin, and a raised notch of resin at the bottom of the gown where something must've gone wrong in the production process. (You can't see them clearly in these photos, but they're there). It should clearly have only been sold as a second, and I'm not sure how it slipped through quality control unnoticed. I would never have paid full price for it if I had seen its flaws.

I got in touch with the stockist I purchased it from- Daisy Park- who replied almost straight away and helped resolve the issue quickly, despite being away on holiday. They offered to refund me, but as the brooch was sold out from all the UK stockists and they couldn't offer a replacement, I decided to keep it anyway as I still wanted it in my collection. They kindly offered me a partial refund instead, which was back in my account just moments later. I was really impressed with their level of customer service; it's not something you get too often.

I'm not put off by the lapse in quality; it's the first time I've had an issue with Erstwilder's jewellery in the five or six years I've been collecting them. Mistakes happen, and hopefully it was just a one-off. I've come to live with the brooch's imperfections, just like I've learnt to live with my own. They add character. I don't think they're too noticeable, especially when I'm wearing it- and I've already worn her a lot- except for the notch of resin at the bottom, which I'm trying to pretend is just a crease in her gown from her foot. It kinda looks like one, if you squint.

There are still many pieces available from the All Hallows Eve collection, and they're definitely worth checking out. The Stitched Witch brooch is sadly sold out from all the UK stockists I'm aware of, but it's still available direct from Erstwilder in Australia here, so snap her up while you can. 

Did you buy anything from the All Hallow's Eve collection?

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Currently | October 2022

I can't remember the last time I sat down and wrote a 'currently' post about what I've been doing and enjoying lately, so I think it's about time I stopped by for a catch-up. 

Grab yourself a cuppa, make yourself comfortable; and help yourself to a biscuit.

So, what's new with you?

Lately, I've been...

Reading

I've read almost every day so far this year, and while I haven't read a crazy amount of books, I've still devoured a decent number. I'm currently on my thirty-eighth book of 2022, and only need to finish three to complete my Goodreads reading goal of forty, so I'm pleased with my progress. I've read some great books over the last few months (and a couple of not-so-great ones, too). I discovered Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, and ploughed through all seven of her Grishaverse novels one after the other, plus an enchanting book of fairytales and another about saints set in the same world. I'm a little obsessed, if I'm honest- especially with Nikolai, who has to be one of my favourite book characters ever. It took me a while to get in to Six of Crows as it was a slow-starter and so different to the first three books, but by the time Matthais and Nina were added, and all of their characters' stories started to unravel, I was hooked. I've also reread the Caraval series as I needed another fantasy binge and a Jacks fix; got through a few psychological thrillers like The Blackbird by Tim Weaver and Do No Harm by Jack Jordan (both excellent), and The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (which was not); and recently finished The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum for the first time. I've also read a few Blake Crouch novels lately, and was especially engrossed in Dark Matter, which has to be one of the best books I've ever read. It's about a man who gets kidnapped and wakes up in a parallel universe where his wife isn't his wife, his son doesn't exist, and the company he works for are out to get him. Once he realises where he is, he has to figure out how to get back to his own world, and all kinds of crazy shit goes down as he tries to get back to his family. It was an incredible read, and the way the multiverse is explored was both mind-blowing and terrifying. Read it! Recursion was also brilliant, but Upgrade was so boring I had to force myself to keep reading. I then reread Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for the first time in twenty-one years, which was lovely to return to. I've just finished The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber, which I loved- especially Jacks and his patented blend of gentleness, mischieve, and playful cruelty, but the ending broke me. If Garber doesn't fix that ending in book three, I don't think my heart will ever recover. A few days ago, I finished reading The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke, a creepy thriller about a woman and her three daughters living in a lighthouse in Scotland that's cursed by witches and wildlings. In 1998, the mother and her daughters disappear one by one, and only one girl is seen again- until twenty-one years later, when one of the daughters reappears, still seven years old. It was a good, creepy little read, and perfect for autumn.  On Thursday, I read my first ever graphic novel- The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo. It's a prequel to Shadow and Bone about The Darkling and how he came to be, and the artwork is gorgeous. I'm now reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and I'm already hooked. I hope it's as good as The Martian. 

If you want to keep up with what I've been reading, you can find me on Goodreads here.

Watching

Recent screen favourites have included Shadow and Bone (especially Matthais- I mean, seriously, where can I get one?!), Stranger Things, Alba, Jurassic World Dominion, The Age of Adaline, Old, Greenland, A Quiet Place 1 & 2, Scream 5, the Neighbours finale (so sad it's over), and Home and Away. I've also started watching Locke and Key on Netflix, and The Night Sky on Prime, which I've been enjoying, but I've only watched a few episodes of each so far, and I recently watched an interesting documentary series on 9/11 on Disney+. Mostly, I've just been rewatching old favourites.

Listening

I haven't listened to a lot of new music lately, except for the new Panic! at the Disco album, Viva las Vengeance, which I'm really enjoying. I've mostly been playing a lot of Linkin Park and Dead by Sunrise, but hey, what's new?

Stitching 

I've hardly cross stitched at all this year as I've been so uninspired and haven't found anything I've wanted to stitch, but I've just gone back to stitching some Satsuma Street Christmas baubles designs I began last December. They're only little, so they won't take me long to sew, so I should have no trouble completing them in time for the festive season. I've finished two so far, and think I have five left to go.

Playing

I still love Animal Crossing New Horizons and enjoy relaxing with it every day. I've recently started a new island after getting frustrated with my old one when I was sick with Covid- then regretting it and resetting again- so I'm busy playing catch up, and also trying to make it look super autumnal with lots of pumpkins and orange foliage. I've also been working on lots of holiday homes with the add-on, Happy Home Paradise, which I find oddly addictive. Aside from AC, I regularly play FarmVille 3, and recently spent a fun evening on holiday playing Ghostbusters Monopoly, and getting taught how to play Disney Uno for the first time. I'm tempted to jump on the bandwagon and try Disney Dreamlight Valley next, as everyone seems to be obsessed with it, but I want to get a little further in Animal Crossing before I get addicted to another game.

Buying

I recently bought the coolest Labyrinth print smock dress from Truffle Shuffle. It's black and has a print of characters from the movie (like Jareth, Ludo, and Hoggle), and barn owls and the lyrics 'dance, magic dance' dotted in between. It's amazing, and so comfortable, too. It caters to both straight sizes and plus sizes up to a 24-26, and it's generously-sized, so I'd recommend sizing down. I also treated myself to a gorgeous red polka dot midi dress by Live Unlimited from Very with some belated birthday money, which I wore on my recent holiday to Cornwall. It's pretty, classic, and so comfy, too. Also very generously-sized. Aside from dresses, I've bought quite a few books lately- mostly from stumbling in to bookshops on holiday; a pumpkin witch brooch from Erstwilder; the cosiest new toadstool print pyjamas from ASOS Curve; and I've even picked up a few gifts and wrapping accessories for Christmas already. 

Wanting

All the books, some new dresses, this year's Essie and Benefit Advent calendars, to curl up in a pile of blankets like a burrito, the sequel to The Ballad of Never After to be out now because that ending broke me and needs fixing along with my heart, and the next series of Shadow and Bone to be released on Netflix already, 

Needing

New glasses, a hair cut, new pairs of ankle boots and Converse, a good concert, my tachycardia to calm the f*ck down, a cure for tinnitus before I go insane, some excitement in my life, and a new camera as I dropped and broke my Canon. *Sobs.*

Wishing 

I could rewind a month and enjoy my holiday all over again. Or that I was rich enough to take another one... I miss being by the sea.

Enjoying

A week's holiday down in Cornwall last month. It was so good to get away, spend some time by the sea, relax, eat some good food, and revisit some of my favourite places. I won't say any more now, as I'll be writing a separate post about what I got up to soon.

Loving

I recently tried the OGX coconut shampoo and conditioner, after picking up travel sizes for my holiday, and not only do they smell amazing, but they left my hair so soft and shiny, too. I'll definitely be buying them again.

Liking

The crisp chill in the air, the leaves changing colours, seeing hedges full of blackberries, the sound of dry leaves skipping along the tarmac in the breeze, and curling up under a blanket with a good book as the last of the daylight fades away in the evening. I'm liking these early autumn days a lot.

Eating

As I've been away, I've enjoyed some really good treats lately; my favourite fish and chips from Rick Stein's Fish and Chips, the most amazing berry roulade from a café on Padstow harbour, delicious junk food from a burger bar called The Hub Box in St. Ives, a few Cornish pasties, some great gelato from Pavilion Ice in Perranporth... it was a good week for food. I've also been loving Cadbury Mint Crisp chocolate, and may have enjoyed a Millie's Cookie or two last week... 

Drinking

I recently tried a really delicious raspberry lemonade from The Hub Box. It was just the right balance of tart and sweet, and had fresh raspberries in it. It was sooo good. More please.

Burning

the back of my hand on the oven the first time I tried cooking (well, heating) something in many moons. (Cooking hurts my back too much, so I don't often unless I have no other option). I really shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. Luckily, the burn isn't too deep as I reacted fast, but boy, did it hurt. Fingers crossed it doesn't scar.

And that's life lately in a nut shell.

What have you been enjoying lately?

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Cornish Adventures 2021: Newquay Zoo

On the last full day of our holiday to Cornwall, we visited one of our favourite local attractions; Newquay Zoo.

Every time we holiday in Cornwall, we always make time for a visit, so we couldn't leave without continuing our decades-old tradition.

Newquay Zoo is a small but lovely little zoo on the outskirts of the popular seaside town of Newquay, which you'll probably know is famous for its beaches and surf culture. It has an interesting collection of animals to see, with everything from lions and wallabies, to penguins and tapirs, although, there are few big creatures and most of their menagerie is made up of smaller animals like monkeys, lemurs, and birds. This doesn't make a visit any less exciting, but if you go in expecting to see elephants and giraffes, you will be disappointed. 

We visited just before midday on a slightly drizzly Friday last September. Due to Covid restrictions, we prebooked our tickets online, and also rented a mobility scooter, which cost a non-refundable £10, as the zoo rents them in from another company. It was easy to collect on arrival, and the helpful staff also provided us with a map of the recommended routes around the zoo as it is hilly in places, and the scooter had all the stamina of a sloth. 

We had a fun couple of hours wandering around seeing all the amazing animals and plants. I particularly loved seeing the slow loris, tapirs, capybaras, and otters, and even saw a couple of species I'd never seen before, like the wildebeest and the dusky pademelon- a type of wallaby from Papau New Guinea. The wildebeest were cuter than I was expecting, and had the most amazing long eyelashes. The pademelon had such sweet little faces. Also, have you seen the 'eyebrows' on the Philippine spotted deer? Someone should've told her that over-plucking is never a good idea.

I also enjoyed walking through the peaceful Japanese-style garden by the otters and hornbills, and looking out over the lake, which has little islands home to lemurs and marmosets, and is edged with so much greenery. We were a little late in the season to see the gardens at their best, but I always enjoy seeing the huge hydrangea bushes blooming in the summer, and they have so many interesting sub-tropical plants you don't see every day further north in England.

It only took us two and a half hours to get around the whole zoo at a leisurely pace- even with rest breaks- but as someone with chronic pain, I find its small size makes for an ideal day trip. It's big enough to be fun and interesting to visit, but small enough that it's less tiring to explore than many other zoos in the UK. It's still a challenge, but I usually only need a few days to recover instead of a month. You could stretch out your visit to a half day, but you'd be pushed to spend a whole day there without doing laps. It's okay, though- it leaves you more time to spend soaking up the sun or catching some waves at the beach afterwards.

Of course, we couldn't leave without browsing the gift shop. No, seriously; we couldn't. They cheekily make you exit through it. I didn't buy anything this time, but good luck getting out without making a purchase if you visit with kids. 

We had a great day at Newquay Zoo, and it was a lovely way to spend the last day of our holiday. We're heading back to Cornwall again this month, and I've no doubt that we'll be back for another fun day out. We just can't keep away.

If you're an animal lover and ever in North Cornwall, make sure you pay Newquay Zoo a visit. It's well worth exploring if you're in the area and want a break from visiting beaches and harbour towns.

When did you last visit the zoo?

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My Sealife Brooch Collection

I'm away on holiday in (hopefully) sunny Cornwall this week, and I thought it would be fun to show you which accessories I packed for my trip.

So, what does a girl pack for a week by the sea in Cornwall? Why, all the sea life brooches, of course!

I've built up a great little collection of sea animal themed brooches over the last few years (plus a Kraken and a palm tree), so when I was deciding which accessories to pack for my holiday to Cornwall. I knew these brooches would be coming with me.

I love theming my outfits based on the destination or occasion, and trips to Cornwall are always a good excuse to break out anything seaside, sea life or nautical themed. I'll be wearing at least one of these brooches every day, along with my awesome Vendula London Seaside Souvenirs backpack and purse, and a pair of Havaianas. Well, when in Cornwall...

Most of these brooches are old designs from Erstwilder, except for the lobster and palm tree, which were part of a set from Cath Kidston several years ago, and the galaxy-effect whale brooch, which I bought from Kimchi and Coconut last summer. If I had to choose favourites, I think I would pick the beautiful sea turtle brooch, Michelle Sea Turtle; the amazing Kraken brooch, From the Deep, as the design is epic and it's made from the prettiest resins; and the crab brooch, Huggable Decapod, because the marbled red resin is so striking. They're all pretty cool, though, and I'm looking forward to adding them to my outfits this week for trips to the seaside, cruising along the coast, exploring harbour towns, and whatever else we may get up to. Though, if we take a trip to Newquay zoo, I'll be mixing things up and breaking out my new Pete Cromer lemur brooch for the occasion. I mean, what's the point in having a lemur brooch if I can't wear it to the zoo?

Of course, I'll also be keeping my eyes open for anything new to add to the collection while we're drifting in and out of seaside gift shops, so I could come home with more than I arrived with.

It's a risk I'm happy to take.

Someone please stop me.

Which brooch is your favourite?

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Cornish Adventures 2021: Padstow

Every time we holiday in Cornwall, we always fit in a visit to Padstow, and on last year's holiday, we actually went twice. The second time was just on a whim to get fish and chips from our favourite chippy in the harbour, but hey, sometimes you just have to drive fifty miles to satisfy a craving.

On the first full day of our holiday, we drove the twenty-five miles east along the coast from Perranporth to do some sight-seeing around Padstow harbour. As it was a scorching hot day, we left early to try to avoid the worst of the heat, and had a gorgeous drive along the coastal roads, cruising the tight hair-pin bends past beautiful beaches like Porth, Watergate Bay, and Mawgan Porth (above).

It was already thirty degrees by the time we got to Padstow, and with barely a cloud in the endless blue sky and the sunlight shimmering on the water, the harbour looked so serene. It's a very picturesque port town, with a working harbour in the centre, edged by pretty little gift shops, bakeries, and ice cream shops, and while it's quintessentially Cornish, when the sun is shining, it doesn't even feel like you're in England. 

We parked in the harbour, and headed across to take in the views of the boats on the water, before dawdling at a snail's pace around the shops and eateries in the town. We wandered in and out of gift shops, browsed a great little book shop, and bought treats from a sweet shop to bring home. We revisited a gorgeous teddy bear shop called Abbey Bears that we always return to whenever we're in town, and I came away with a Jelly Cat Amuseables pumpkin for myself and the cutest sad-looking hard-boiled egg plushie for my younger sister. I don't know why the Amuseables amuse me so much, but I love them. Afterwards, we went in search of Rick Stein's patisserie, hoping to get some of their delicious pasties we'd loved for over a decade, but to our disappointment, we discovered it had been demoted to a Rick Stein coffee shop since our last visit four years earlier. We had to buy chocolate orange cookies, and a custard tartlet to share to try to console ourselves at the loss of one of our holiday favourites. Seriously, Rick Stein pasties were amazing and probably the best in Cornwall, so my tastebuds were sad.

Our sweet treats were enjoyed back at the caravan that evening, and they were delicious. 

After strolling around the town in the sweltering sunshine and visiting all of the places that caught our eye, we stopped for a rest with some cold drinks alongside the harbour, and just sat in the sunshine enjoying the gorgeous landscape for a while. It looked so pretty and tranquil, I could've sat there all day. We would have liked to have gone out on a boat excursion to try to spot some sea life, like we often do on Cornish holidays, but we realised neither of us was in a fit state to manoeuvre down a flight of stone steps on to a boat, so we went and got ice cream, and fish and chips instead. 

We got delicious 99's from a Kelly's ice cream van on the harbour, which is a go-to every time we're in Padstow. Trust me, their soft-serve ice cream is some of the best you'll ever try. We then parked a little closer to the Lobster Hatchery, and treated ourselves to fish and chips from Rick Stein's Fish and Chips. It's a place we discovered about fifteen years ago, and the food is so good, we've been returning to it on every holiday to Cornwall since. It's a little more expensive than your average chippy- they actually sell lobster and champagne, if you really want to treat yourself- but the food is incredible, so it's completely worth it. The fish is fresh and often locally-caught, the batter is the perfect mix of salty and crispy, and the chips are so fluffy. They're the best fish and chips I've ever tried, to the point I'd been daydreaming about returning since my last holiday there four years earlier, and am already looking forward to going back again later this month. We enjoyed last year's meal so much, we actually drove all the way back- twenty-five miles each way- later in the week just to get fish and chips from them again! It was totally worth it. Will we be tempted to do the same again this year? Probably. And I'm not even sorry.

Our trips to Padstow were short and sweet, but we had a lovely time visiting the iconic town again. It's a great place to visit if you want to shop for treats and gifts to bring home, or grab a bite to eat while enjoying beautiful Cornish scenery and a busy but relaxing atmosphere. Padstow's said to have some beautiful beaches, too, but in all our years of holidaying in Cornwall, I don't think we've ever visited them. One of these days, I'm going to have to change that. If they're as pretty as the harbour, they'll be well worth a visit.

Have you ever visited Padstow?

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