i simply remember my favourite things, and then i don't feel so bad

I like knick-knacks. Ornaments. Bits and bobs. Clutter, basically.

Luckily, my wonderful other half doesn't mind either.

Since we moved into our flat in the summer, we've since made it a home, something I'm very proud of and pleased with. It's a rented flat, so there's obviously limitations to how we can decorate, but I think accessorizing works perfectly well.

At the ripe age of 20, I think I've turned into my mum. Since settling down, I've gradually built what my boyfriend calls 'the nest', and have been buying bits and pieces to fill our home with since the day we moved in. I am now the proud owner of vintage teacups and cocktail shakers, butter dishes and trinket boxes, ornaments, plaques, rubber ducks, cushions and bunting - so much bunting. Throw in some posters and prints we bought in Paris, and the obligatory cheesy photographs, and you have our home in a nutshell.

So I thought I'd share some of my favourite bits with you...

This vintage teacup and saucer is a new find. I bought it a month ago at the vintage market closest to my flat, and fell in love. I'd been looking for some teacups to build a collection, and when I saw this, I knew it was coming home with me. It's Tuscan bone china, apparently, but all I care about is that it's just beautiful. It's yellow and white, gilt with gold and decorated with pink roses. I haven't actually ventured to have a cup of tea in it yet (I love my Starbucks mug too much!) but when I do, it will be a special day indeed!

This print is one that me and my boyfriend found in Paris. It's ubiquitous tourist tat, obviously, but it's things like this that have a lot of meaning for me. I'd always wanted to go to Paris, and my boyfriend planned it all and whisked me away last summer, for the most wonderful three days. On our last night, I made it my mission to find the tackiest Eiffel Tower memorabilia I could to remind me of our terrifying trip up the tower earlier that day. And in a tacky tourist shop, I found it, and this print. It's odd, and not very pretty. But it's the same print as one my Nana used to have in her old house, except hers was a stained glass plaque. I hardly ever see my Nana anymore, since I moved out of London, so for me, it is a way to remind me of her all the time. So it hangs on our wall now, always reminding me of that wonderful first trip away, and my lovely Nana too - what more can you ask for from tourist tat?!

This trinket box is very special to me too. It's probably not worth very much, but it's worth the world to me. My mum gave it to me a few years ago, and, like my Nana, I never really see her either, as she's still in London too. It's a beautiful silver gilt box with claw feet and really ornate detail, with a painted enamel panel on the lid too. I only use it to keep my hair grips in, on my dressing table, but I think using it for everyday things, in a place I sit everyday, lets me appreciate it more. It's very special to my mum as her granny gave it to her, so it's incredibly old, and I hope to keep it forever. I was devastated when a glass shelf in our old flat fell down and knocked a tiny bit off the front of the box, but other than that, it's still so perfect and so full of memories :)