Amanda | The Womens Room

Home & GardenApril 14, 2012

Martha Moments: lemon skin fire lighters

By Amanda

We are indebted to TWR reader Lindsay Howell, who provided both this fabulously creative way to recycle lemon rinds as well as introducing us to Solva Woollen Mill. Martha Moments, you will remember, are an homage to Martha Stewart, whose… Read More

Things We LoveApril 13, 2012

Hope and Greenwood pinnies

By Amanda

We love a good pinny here at TWR, in fact I’d love us to do our own range, perhaps in Harris Tweed or even denim….but I digress. These cheerfully retro ones from Hope and Greenwood are uplifting, pretty and reasonably… Read More

Home & GardenApril 12, 2012

Locally made products: Solva Wool Mill

By Amanda

For the day job I’m in the middle of writing about how locally manufactured product is going to be even more important going forward, as consumers think carefully about buying stuff that helps support locally based factories and craftstmen. So… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 10, 2012

Online shopping for middleagedad (and his sons): Stylepilot

By Amanda

Middleagedad recently did a post on his blog where he looked at the efficiencies of his online shopping, claiming that fairly soon he will NEVER have to visit a store again. Men often don’t like shopping for clothes, well straight… Read More

Home & GardenApril 8, 2012

Happy Easter and things to do with excess chocolate

By Amanda

Happy Easter all from us at TWR. Just incase you end up with an excess of chocolate today, we have a recipe that might be of use. Mint leaves dipped in white chocolate, suggested to me by middleteenson’s lovely girlfriend,… Read More

Things We LoveApril 6, 2012

Printed perfume bottles from Jo Malone London

By Amanda

If perfume bottles are sitting on our dressing tables and taking up space, the very least they could do is look pretty. Often much of the marketing spend goes into packaging and exotic boxes (I think we are supposed to… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 6, 2012

We love: Katie Puckrik Smells

By Amanda

We recently met the rather lovely Katie Puckrik, a stablemate of ours at Handpicked Media, who some of you may remember from her days as a presenter on the uber-cool TV programme The Word. She has transformed into Katie Puckrik… Read More

Things We LoveApril 4, 2012

Antonia by Puredistence

By Amanda

Jane and I are a tad worried The Women’s Room is turning into a beauty blog, what with all the perfume and skin care products we’re being introduced to. With perfume, I’m starting to run out of adjectives when describing… Read More

Out & AboutApril 4, 2012

Gudrun Sjödén’s new store: more Swedish style in London

By Amanda

The Women’s Room is have a Swedish love-in currently, what with us loving the Hasbeens pop up store at Selfridges last week and now designer Gudrun Sjödén has opened her first, very pretty shop in London and we were there… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 2, 2012

LUCZA’s First Anniversary Celebration: win a capsule wardrobe! Really!

By Amanda

This is SUCH an exciting Monday morning we can hardly stand still because LUCZA, the luxury basics brand is celebrating its first anniversary with us here at TWR by giving away a whole capsule wardrobe…I know! Fabulous eh? This competition… Read More

Things We LoveApril 1, 2012

Jo Malone London Scent Surround Collection

By Amanda

Jo Malone London’s Scent Surround collection launches on Monday 2nd April, making your house smell as nice as you after you’ve spritzed some of its lovely perfume. I’ve been testing the Red Roses Scent Surround Diffuser this week and I… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 31, 2012

Rachel Riley’s sundresses and vintage hanky collection

By Amanda

Last week I went vintage shopping with designer Rachel Riley and she happened to mention she had a hankie collection similar to The Printed Square one we mentioned last week. Rachel produces nearly all her own prints now for her… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 29, 2012

Proceed With Fashion Caution, TWR’s list of unsuitable fashion trends

By Amanda

Yesterday we were thrilled to be invited to do a guest blog for Gransnet, older sister (mother?) of Mumsnet, which despite its slightly ‘ageing’ name has good discussions going on about many issues relevant to older women (and a nice… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 27, 2012

My summer Ancient Greek Sandals, shall I get the winged ones?

By Amanda

We spotted these last year on Yasmin Sewell’s Vogue blog, and quite simply fell in love with them. Beautifully designed FLAT shoes, now that’s something we don’t see every day in our hooker-heel-chic-loving world. The shoes are made by newly… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 25, 2012

We love: John Smedley’s Care Wash by The Laundress

By Amanda

Anyone who has had moths will be interested in this new range of Care Washes from British knitwear designer and manufacturer John Smedley. Designed by The Laundress, the cult New York detergent team, the cotton and wool washes are designed… Read More

Out & AboutMarch 23, 2012

Tulipmania at Neill Strain’s Flower Lounge

By Amanda

If you are close to West Halkin Street in Knightsbridge before Easter, try and get to florist Neill Strain’s flower store, which is bursting with Spring fever and over 40 different types of tulips for Tulipmania, a celebration of his… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 21, 2012

Big pants: shapewear by Matalan

By Amanda

It’s all about pants today, big, good value ones at that. Oh, the glamour. Recently I was in a Matalan store for the FIRST time ever, on a supermarket retail safari with fellow retail geeks (on a Sunday too, talk… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingMarch 20, 2012

Pants on Fire by Maggie Alderson

By Amanda

Last week when we had a glitch in our technicals, the lovely Maggie Alderson (amongst others) mailed us to tell us when things went wrong. I loved the column Maggie used to write in The Times so it’s a real… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 19, 2012

Good value beauty: Etat Pur

By Amanda

‘Good value beauty’ you say, with a sceptical hint in your voice, ‘don’t you guys always pick the expensive stuff to love?’. Well, yes dear readers, we have been fortunate at TWR to have been offered some beautiful but stonkingly… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 17, 2012

More sewing, this time with Chanel (see below post first)

By Amanda

Having posted the below post on Recycle and Sew this morning, some of our Twitter followers pointed out this great video on how to make a Chanel jacket (I’m looking at you @FionaHarkin) The Secret Of The Little Black Jacket,… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 17, 2012

Sewing lessons for grown ups at Recycle and Sew

By Amanda

A couple of weeks back I went to one of Anita Bott’s Vintage Fashion Fairs and got chatting to June Allnutt, above, who was perched in front of her sewing machines, ready to mend or restore any vintage finds that… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingMarch 15, 2012

The Printed Square by Nicky Albrechtsen

By Amanda

A lovely book, we did the review here Buy here … Read More

Things We LoveMarch 15, 2012

Bill Cunningham, New York a film by Richard Press

By Amanda

The best film of the year if you are fashion person, it’s out on DVD on April 2nd, which is all you need to know really. Buy it here… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 15, 2012

The Printed Square by Nicky Albrechtsen

By Amanda

A gorgeous little book came through the post this week from Thames & Hudson, The Printed Square by Nicky Albrechtsen, all about handkerchiefs. You might remember we wrote about Nicky and Fola Solanke’s book Scarves last year, this one is… Read More

We Are ReadingMarch 14, 2012

Lingerie by Lillian Bassman

By Amanda

Lillian Bassman’s photography of women in lingerie from the 40s and 50s, many shot for lingerie company ad campaigns, is a stark reminder of just how brashly sexual images of women have become today. In Lingerie, published by Abrams… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 13, 2012

Mother’s Day present ideas: a perfume and tea salon at Illuminum fragrances

By Amanda

Now THIS is what we call a good Mother’s Day present idea, a rare tea and perfume appreciation salon at Illuminum Fragrance Lounge in Dover Street., London For the last few weeks we’ve had PRs sending us ‘ideas’ for Mother’s… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 11, 2012

Final Scandi post this week -I promise: ‘Broen’ (The Bridge) and ‘Those Who Kill’

By Amanda

Because we have such FANTASTIC readers in you all here at TWR, we learn a lot . On Monday I posted that we were missing our weekly intake of Danish murder /mysteries (Borgen, The Killing), quick as a flash, we… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 9, 2012

A Sort Of Coal: more Danish stuff

By Amanda

While we are talking all things Scandinavian (see Monday’s post) we haven’t quite finished with Denmark. Recently the Danish company A Sort Of Coal sent us a very detailed press release on the magical properties of er, sticks. Well White… Read More

Middle Aged MumMarch 7, 2012

Middleagemum.com: help me, I’m addicted to Pinterest!

By Amanda

It was bad enough when we just did the blog and Twitter on TWR, I found myself online more than off. Then Instagram came along and that nice @indiaknight told us we should be on it and now I almost… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 5, 2012

We love all things Danish, including Bruuns Bazaar

By Amanda

Is anyone else missing The Killing and Borgen from their weekends? We loved Call The Midwife and Homeland is shaping up nicely, but there’s a big hole in our Saturday nights now we don’t have a Danish drama to follow… Read More