As many of you may know, I have recently moved house! I left the quiet streets of sleepy Farnham and traded up. I have moved to bustling Brighton, where there truly is never a dull moment. Let me explain my living situation a little. I live with my boyfriend in a two-bedroom flat in the heart of the high street. We have already found our favourite wine shop and established that there is a really good pizza place a couple of doors down. Originally, when I started my 'Moving and Improving' series, my plan was to move in with my best friend. Unfortunately, life got in the way and we couldn't make it work. However, our plan hasn't changed too much as she will hopefully be packing and moving next year. 

Before I show you my lovely new living room, I want to issue a few thank-yous. 

Firstly, thank you to my parents who dragged all my stuff from my home-town to here (a 3-hour drive nonetheless). Secondly, thank you to my boyfriend who has to put things in high places that I can't reach, carry stuff up heavy stairs and deal with me decorating our new little home. Thirdly, thank you to Perch and Parrow who gave us our lovely sofa. 

My boyfriend and I were having a conversation about sofas the other day. He was talking about when he lived with his parents and the sofa was just always...there. And when moved into his student house, a sofa was included. We spent over a month without a sofa, hunting for the right one that would fit our space and our comfort needs. What I am saying is - a sofa is a privilege you don't usually think about.  Most houses have them or come with them when you rent but as soon as you have an unfurnished property, you figure out you truly can't live without one. So I want to say a massive thank-you to Perch and Parrow who were kind enough to gift us a sofa. 

So the sofa you see pictured is huge. I found it difficult to fit all its beauty in one lense. However, their website is linked throughout and I will make sure to link it again at the end of this post. This is the Arun Three-Seater Chaise Sofa in the colour Sea Salt. Perch and Parrow make bespoke furniture in a selection of colours and fabrics.

Next to my new sofa from Perch and Parrow is my coffee table. A little while ago, I wrote a post titled One Small Step into Adulthood where I spoke about a table I purchased from the charity shop. The table was the first proper adult item I had bought and having it all made up in my new house, really does remind me that I am a full-grown human now. 

On this table, I have a few items. Firstly is my chess board from my Dad, which he got me as a graduation present. Then I have a few of my older books (a common theme in my new flat), like Grimm's fairytales and Longfellow. As well as a faux cactus and a few candles.

Across the room is my fireplace. This fireplace is not useable, it has been built up so we cannot light fires in it. However, I have covered the grate in candles so at least we can pretend there is a fire there. On top of it, I have put a photo of me and my boyfriend, a few more books (see, I told you it was an ongoing theme), including my signed copy of Autumn by Ali Smith and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. My candle from Newshome Candles has also found its home on my fireplace as well as some more faux cacti. Stuck on my mirror is a quote from the one and only Dolly Parton and also, a polaroid of my dogs. And finally, there is my glass jar with a few wine corks in it. My boyfriend and I plan to fill this jar up with more corks but we always end up drinking cheap wine. 

 Above my sofa is a shelf, which frankly, is way too high for me to reach. So I spend the majority of time asking my boyfriend to move things around for me. On this shelf is a plethora of items which I have collected throughout a few years. As I have so many books, I went for a yellow, orange, brown and white colour pallete here as I thought it matched the majority of the other items.

My newest addition is Sedrick, my ivy plant. When I first moved into my new home, my boyfriend had already been living there for a month. He told me he was going to buy me flowers as a moving in present but instead, he surprised me with a massive ivy plant which we later decided to call Sedrick. Sedrick is currently alive and healthy, let's hope he stays that way!

Next up is my buddha head. He is made from solid stone and is extremely heavy. Again, I have an array of books, which I have already mentioned. A few of my notable favourites on this shelf are - Angela Carter's Fairly tales, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and Nutshell by Ian McEwan. And for all the readers who have been keeping a close eye on my collection of books, yes that is my second copy of Grimm's fairytales. The first was on the coffee table and no, these are definitely not my only two copies. 

Now, probably one of the most interesting items in my flat is this teapot. I picked up this teapot from a really random charity shop in my hometown when I was 13 or 14 (just for reference, I am now 21 years old) and it has been with ever since. I don't know what drew me to this teapot. It could have been the intricate design or the fascinating colour palette. It could have been the fact that it says 'Made in Japan' on the bottom and was definitely brought over by a person, not by a company. Or and probably, the most likely, it could be because it reminded me of Mulan, my favourite film in the world. Anyway, I love it and it looks amazing alongside all my other items. 

Next to my mysterious teapot is me and my boyfriend's graduation photos. We are now deeply in debut and have wrinkles made from pure stress but it's a nice reminder of how we got here. We are now both happily living together, in a wonderful area, both working in our respective fields.  

And finally is my funky highland Cow picture which was a gift from my now ex-housemate. His vibrant orangey and yellow shades fit perfectly with my  colour palette. 

Thank you so much for reading this post and thank you BuyWholeFoodsOnline for gifting me some goodies!

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Okay, hello again. I haven't started packing up my house yet but I have started thinking about it. And truly, that's half the battle (or so I keep telling myself). So, as you can see by the title of this post, I will be talking about my mug collection. I know what you are thinking, what a weird thing to write about whilst you are packing. 

Firstly, I have these two F.R.I.E.N.D.S mugs that I actually brought from a charity shop in my home town. They are some of the cutest mugs I have ever owned. The green one has a slight chip on the rim, which I cleverly disguised in this photo. When I moved into halls in my first year of university, some of my mugs got chipped or broken in the process, but luckily I was able to save this pair of adorable F.R.I.E.N.D.S mugs.

Secondly, I have this bee mug from Arthouse Unlimited. It was a gift from my younger sister because I achieved a First on my dissertation (blog post coming soon). And every single time I drink out of it, it reminds me of to save the bees! It is also my favourite colour - Yellow. Thank you, Grace!

The other mug is from none other than my podcast. Didn't know I had a podcast? Check it out here.

On my 21st birthday, my co-host and best friend, Katie Thomas had this mug made for me and now, they are on sale! You can get your own one here (is this post sponsored by me?)

Next up, there is this mug that my boyfriend bought me. I was saying how I use a mug in pretty much all of my flat-lays and photos for my blog. He took the hint and got me a 'Queen of the Bloggers' mug. This is probably one of my absolute favourite mugs. 

*This item was gifted

I don't know if this counts as a mug but this is my reusable bottle from Simply Modern. Okay, so I have been in the market for a reusable water bottle, however, I had a few requirements it had to reach:

1. It had to be the same size as a regular bottle. I am addicted to smart water and it's mostly due to the size of the bottle. I usually carry a smaller, shoulder bag so I need to a bottle that is going to fit in there. 
2. It needs to look cute. I know this is a shallow reason and probably has nothing to do with many people's purchases 
3. It has to have no chance of leaking. I hate it when I buy a reusable bottle, trying to save the environment and everything and then it leaks. This has happened to me multiple times, so excuse me while I fill up my water bottle to the brim and shake it manically to see if any liquid comes out. 
4. Finally, it needs to be budget friendly. As I am moving, a reusable water bottle is actually at the top of my list of purchases (funnily enough). However, I am that person that carries a fabric bag and metal straws in their handbag, so I do think it is important to limit my plastic consumption. But money is something I, as a poor student, have to watch. This bottle from Simply Modern is only £9.99. That is incredible when you compare it to other, bigger brands which are selling non-disposable bottles.

Not only, have I not actually thrown away any mugs before my move, but I have even bought more. Shalieka and I were out, shopping, looking for our graduation dresses when we stumbled across this collection of three mugs from New Look. We instantly fell in love. Now, there is a bit of an inside/stupid joke that goes along with these mugs. I am allergic to citrus. You know, pineapple, lemon, lime and basically anything that has the tangy, sour flavour. As you can see from these tastefully picked mugs, one is a pineapple (of which I am allergic) and the other is a grapefruit (again, very allergic).  So joke heard, well received and these mugs will have a new home in my new home.

Thank you for stumbling onto my part of the internet yet again and reading yet another post. I don't know if this post is dumb but I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. There will be more in the 'Moving and Improving' series, where I document my moving experience. So get ready for some more, stupidly entertaining posts!

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Shop this post:

F.R.I.E.N.D.S Mugs - Thrifted

Bee Mug - Arthouse Unlimited

A Coffee And A Cry Mug - Our Site

Queen of the Bloggers Mug - Amazon

 Water Melon Mug - New Look

Grapefruit Mug - New Look

Pineapple Mug - New Look

Reusable Bottle - Simply Modern

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