I’m just on my way to Casper’s football this morning, but hitting your inboxes with all the vital info to get your hands on the crazily gorgeous collection of baskets I’ve had sent from Marrakech for Drop~07.

For all the details on what exactly is available today on Nomadis Home, you can head to this post where you can see pictures, a video and details of exactly what’s available in today’s drop.

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Please note, paid subscribers now have 24 hours exclusive access to shop the collection (using the details further down); I will then remove the password access at 8am tomorrow morning for general access, so you can shop any remaining baskets.

In other words, to shop right now and have first dibs, you’re gonna want to be a paid subscriber… please note, if you are subscribing now, you will then need to come back to this post to retrieve the password details, these will not be emailed to you.

Get Early Access

Link and Password To Shop Now…

So, pop to the website on the button below, and then head to ‘Enter Using Password’ towards the top of the page. You’ll then be granted access to the website, where you can shop Drop-07.

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Ok, it’s happening, we’re going live this Saturday with my latest collection of beautiful birkin style baskets, brought to you from Marrakech.

In September 2025, I brought back a very small handful of these wonderful baskets from Marrakech - simply cos I loved them - and you went wild! Understandably so! They’re so cool and timeless - perfect for the summer months - while being practical.

I’ve spent the winter researching and chatting to artisans and sellers, and now have a fabulous maker who I’m working with directly, to ensure that I can bring you a little bit of Marrakech magic.

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How to Shop The Drop

On Saturday morning (18th April), at 8am, an email will be sent out to paid subscribers with the drop password and the link - this will give paid subscribers 24 hours early access to shop before anyone else.

If you do not receive the email at 8am promptly - please note that emails can get delayed for a whole host of reasons and I can’t control it once I’ve scheduled for 8am - the safest way to ensure you see the post (as it’s technically just a substack blog post which gets pushed out to your email) is to come to the Substack app or website and refresh for my most recent post. Here’s my main page as a shortcut where it will be front and centre on Saturday morning.

To ensure first dibs on this drop, please consider subscribing to avoid disappointment.

Become a paid subscriber here

On Sunday 19th April at 8am, the website will then be open for general sale (for any remaining stock) and will remain open for a week or so, before being closed again to prepare for the next drop.

For more info, there’s a handy pinned instagram post right here.

What’s Available?

In this drop there are 29 baskets in total, as shared in the above video priced between £45-£95 plus postage & packaging.

Each basket is handmade and finished by hand with leather details - therefore measurements may vary slightly between bags and there may be slight imperfections, such is the nature of beautiful hand crafted pieces made from natural materials.

If you are interested in any of these gorgeous baskets, I really can’t urge you enough to consider becoming a paid subscriber for early access to the sale. It’s £5.50 (you can unsubscribe at any time) and acts as your ‘early bird’ ticket to the sale - in the same way I don’t think twice about paying a fiver to get into my fave sales and I don’t even know what’s behind the doors!

Early Bird Access

Please can I also ask that you measure and measure again; and please consider the imperfections and natural materials - as returns hugely impact me being able to continue running these drops.

And any questions at all, NOW really is the time to ask away! If you wait until Saturday, chances are I’ll be in a tech/website frenzy or the special piece you want may have gone.

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I managed all of that without asking the question that we all know the answer to… how many baskets is too many baskets?!

Lots of love folks…

I’m back in my studio after my little Easter hiatus and our much-needed holiday to Morocco, and have renewed energy on every front, which is rather nice!

A little taster of what to expect in the coming days over here - my guide to Essaouira, where we holidayed. Where we stayed, where we ate, what we did, and - most importantly - where I shopped, will be landing in your inboxes this coming weekend. Including the fab find where I showed a guy my fave pinterest bag and he made it to order within 2 days from gorgeous leather!

Very similar to this post…

I’m also pulling out all the stops to ensure that the Nomadis Drop~07 of Birkin Baskets is live for this Saturday. The beautiful handmade baskets sold out last September, and I only have a small batch this time around, but they’ll be fab once the sun makes an appearance.

As always, paid subscibers will get 24 hour early access (password to the website is emailed/shared here on substack), so if you’d like to be toting a gorgeous Birkin Basket this summer, be sure to become a paid subscriber.

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And lastly, before I get into some of this week’s preloved finds, an update on The Beach Hut Prize Draw. Sadly, as we didn’t sell enough tickets to make it viable, the draw won’t be going ahead. Everyone who bought a ticket has been sent an email via Givergy (the ticketing platform) and will be refunded in the coming days. Thank you to everyone who shared, supported and bought tickets - and so sorry I can’t be handing over the keys to one of you.

We’ve taken this as a little sign to paint the lovely new doors and potentially enjoy the hut for another summer. But we will be looking to sell it in the future, so if you or someone you know is interested, please feel free to reach out.

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Alrighty, let’s have a look at what’s been catching my eye in the last week over in Vinted. Admittedly, my Vinted home page has become full of both vintage beads (for a little project I’m working on - like I don’t have enough projects already coming out of my ears!) and chess sets - which Cas has become obsessed with recently, but between the beads and chess, I’ve found some goodies for ya.

5 goodies plus a bonus under £20 beaut - mostly delightful home accessories, with a couple of clothing pieces thrown in for good measure.

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I’ve had this one sat in my drafts for a couple of months, unsure if I ever wanted to share it with the world. Ultimately, there’s no ‘ending’ or life lesson to be taken from this post, which makes me feel uneasy to be honest. Not a full circle, neatly packaged with a bow, just thoughts and musings on my estrangement, which often takes weird turns.

I write and share these posts partly selfishly, as I find them cathartic; I also take comfort in the conversations they spark with others in similar situations.

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I also share them to shake the taboo of voluntarily (although that could be debated, but another time!) ‘cutting off’ a parent or family member. It’s much more openly discussed these days, but still not widely spoken about. And as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved, I’m pretty sure that also applies to sharing on the internet, or at least I bloody hope so!

And lastly, I share because if this gives just one person pause to realise they don’t have to keep putting up with the same shit, or to make one person feel like they’re not a horrid person for doing the same, then I’ll take that as solace.

I’ve written a few posts in the past on this topic, so I’ll pop them below so you can start from the beginning if you like…

This September it will be five years since my mum and I ‘stopped talking’. It feels like an odd milestone, very odd indeed. It’s not really one to celebrate, but equally, in an odd way, it does feel like an ‘achievement’ of some kind. To be independent from the relationship which dominated every part of my life for 36 years, for better and very much for worse.

Recently, I was searching for pictures of our lovely beach hut (to add to the prize draw page). While scrolling my camera roll from 2021, the year my mum and I stopped talking, I found hundreds of videos and pictures of my mum. Just everyday videos, nothing huge, but her movements and voice, which have become so alien to me over the last five years. And that’s where it gets complicated…

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But I need to ensure they’re sustainable, bite sized and that by the time I get to the end of this, all the items are still available!

So, as always, here’s a fabulous selection of preloved goodies I’ve found in the last few days which I think you’ll love. You won’t find any Free People, Sezane or Cos bollocks on my lists - not because I don’t like them, they have their place as long as you’re buying preloved - but I strive to make these curations a little special, brands you might not have otherwise of heard of, might not be in a comfortable price range when new, small brands, and unique finds.

So if you’re after something a cut above the rest, all preloved gold, no filler - this is the edit for you!

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This week my glorious Vinted has been throwing up a lot of beautiful vintage homewares, I think largely thanks to the gorgeous wooden B&B sign I shared last week (which a fab follower bought!) and clicked on a lot, so today, there’s just 1 item of clothing amongst gorgeous danish lighting, a gorgeous leather purse, artwork and a fab pair of boots very similar to my own and a beautiful little £10 trinket!

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Oh goodness, this was all ready to go Thursday morning, and then late Wednesday night (as in, too late to edit this), I found some goodies to add on. The same happened Thursday night and repeat. Until here we are on Suturday morning with some absolute preloved stonkers for you!

It’s a good week for preloved - the sun’s been shining, people want to clear out their homes and wardrobes, so there’s preloved bargains to be had. And it’ll definitely be worth heading to a local carboot sale for the same reason this weekend too! In fact, as I write this (Saturday), I have all the plans to be heading to a carboot sale today.

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And if you need a bit of inspo on the carboot front (or to know some of my fave carboot sales), I wrote these handy pieces which are just as relevant this year as last and will be worth a gander if you’re buying or selling…

But, I won’t keep you from these fabulous finds any longer. This week we’ve got a bit of bloody everything… Vintage wooden signage, Toast homewares, Beaumont Organic, Naked Generation, Rundholz, Cabbages & Roses and some Privatsachen. As well as the one that got away from me this week, a gem under £20 and what I bought and how much I paid!

The Good Finds…

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I’ll admit, I had another post written for this morning, but decided that sharing about a new facet I’ve experienced recently in relation to not talking to my mum could probably wait for any other day of the year… maybe next week!

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It may have taken me a couple of days to catch my breath and put this little BTS video together, but oh what a day Friday was! I drove just over an hour to the Kent countryside and hopped from brocante to brocante, eating cake all the way!

Where I Went & Who to Follow for Future Dates

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I’m slowly nudging these posts forward, as my plan is to have these as a little mid-week snack for you, with a meatier offering on weekends.

This week has become unintentionally busy when Bruno announced on Sunday night that he’d be playing in a game on Tuesday which would be 3.5 hrs south of Manchester (him) and therefore a lot closer to us. It’s so rare we I get to watch Bruno play these days as most his games take place over 5 hours away, so I jiggled the diary around to make it happen.

But then, 5 minutes into the game, he landed on his shoulder and had to come off in agony. The club suggested he came home with us for an xray, as it was that much closer and nothing beats motherly love when you’re in pain - so we now have Bruno home with us until Thursday, at which time I’ll probably have to do the 10+ hour round trip to get him back up north.

So, it’s completely lovely having Bruno home for a couple of days and thankfully his pain is being managed - but it’s basically blown out the best part of the working week leaving me feeling on the back heel by Wednesday morning.

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Anywho, here’s my little respite from taxi and chef duties, a snippet of what I’ve been favouriting and snapping up on my fave app atm - Vinted.

This week’s edit leans into pieces that feel quietly exceptional: quality natural materials, meaningful design, clothes that get better the longer they live in a wardrobe.

As always, these goodies are still waiting for their new forever homes at the time of writing - so be quick - but if they have gone already, simply by clicking on them, clicking on the brand link within the listing and having a look at the seller’s other items, will all let Vinted know what you' want to see suggested!

This week features my fave mug, a cashmere cardi I’ve been wearing all winter, an incredibly swoonworthy wool gilet/waistcoat, some linen loveliness, of course a bit of Hannoh, amongst other fabness…

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Hello hello - sunshine, was that you? Wasn’t it magical - while it lasted?!

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Welcome to Issue 02 of the Preloved Edit, I’ve got a few cracking finds for you today and as always, I hope you enjoy! But before I get onto the preloved goodies, I have one of my own that I’m super keen to ‘give away’ to one of you lovely lot in the Beach Hut Prize Draw.

I’m always brutally honest with you lot, and right now, we simply haven’t sold enough tickets (we need to sell a minimum of 1600 tickets, and have right now sold just 230!) - so if you'‘ve been on the fence about commiting your £25 please do jump off and dive into a potential summer of seaside fun.

Enter Prize Draw Here

The Pre-Loved Edit

This is my weekly round up of the best secondhand finds I’ve spotted (and very nearly kept for myself) in the last 7 days. It’s no secret that I spend an unreasonable amount of time scrolling the likes of Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace, so this feels like a public service in all honesty.

These pieces have made my list because they’re future heirlooms, under-the-radar gems and simply sublime.

Five finds - no filler - preloved gold only.

Although, I’ve also made a rod for my own back with this series, as I find some absolute belters, but I blink and they’re gone. So if you like something ,be sure to click through, click the brand, have a look at the seller’s other items; so that next time, you’ll find these things first.

This week I’ve got a beautiful, but huge set of pigeon holes inspired by my very own kitchen ones; a stunning carpet bag; the slouchiest jumper; trainers just like my new faves as seen in this reel; and a corker (and investment piece) from Egg Trading.

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It’s so lovely to have a little bit of day light when I’m getting Ardingly from here on out, as the last few have been a scavenge in the dark with my torch! But seeing didn’t seem to help me actually find anything for the first hour or so, and I feared I might actually come home empty handed.

But fear not, I persevered and as the stall holders unloaded their vans, I found some goodies which I’ve shared in all their glory in this video, along with the prices for the bits I’m most likely keeping.

And this isn’t the first Ardingly BTS I’ve shared, in case you missed the first one…

How Do You Get in So Early?

This is a question I understandably get asked a lot, as IACF (the organisers of Ardingly, Newark, Shepton etc) will only ever advertise and tell you about 9am entry. And considering someone jumped into my DMs quicker than a seagull on unattended chips to chastise me for sharing the location of a carboot sale recently, I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag. But, I saw someone else share this privileged intel the other day, so it’s only fair you know too, as there’s nothing more gutting than queuing at 9am, only to see people wheeling trolleys of finds out already.

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ENTER PRIZE DRAW HERE

Short version: You can head to the button below, buy tickets at £25 a go (as many as you like) to enter and the winner will be announced on the 13th of April.

BUY PRIZE DRAW TICKETS HERE

Longer version:

Why

For a little while, and for all the reasons mentioned in this post (and more), we’d been thinking about selling our beach hut. Then I remembered how Claire A Kennedy (over on insta) had given away her camper van last year in a prize draw, and thought how wonderful it would be to - in all honesty - not just recoup the money we paid, but to also give someone the chance to own a beach hut who would never otherwise be able to. Et voila!

The giveaway is taking on place on Givergy, who are a completely above board/legit fund raising platform - they’re a great bunch of people tbh.

The prize draw runs from 1st March 2026 (1am) until 10pm 12th April 2026, with the winner being selected and contacted on 13th April 2026.

To enter simply head here…

ENTER TO WIN MY BEACH HUT

What Exactly You’ll Be Winning

You could win our glorious ‘beach barn’ (little video tour below) worth £50k*, which is on the Shoreham Beach peninsula, in the West Sussex seaside town of Shoreham-by-Sea - 15 minutes to the west of Brighton & Hove and 10 minutes to the east of Worthing. (Don’t worry if you don’t live nearby, keep reading).

It sits directly on a stretch of beach known as Wide Water beach, with the remnants of the old sea steps making up a small patio area to the front of the beach hut with a step up to the pebbled beach (sandy in patches at low tide!).

ENTER HERE

The beach hut is larger than most, measuring approx 3.6m x 2.5m - so super roomy. Inside there are built in storage bench seats/beds with custom made cushions; a full height storage cupboard and a freestanding kitchen unit and shelf.

There are double barn doors with internal half-glazed doors, perfect for keeping out the wind and rain in the colder months, and offering some privacy in the warmer months. And to the rear there is an opening window and small deck area which overlooks the coastal footpath and Wide Water Lagoon.

ENTER RPIZE DRAW

The beach hut, like most, is of wooden construction and was completely redecorated in 2023. We are replacing and repainting the front barn doors prior to the new owner taking over, to ensure you’ll have plenty of years of use from these.

Amenities:

• 2x large pay-and-display carparks within 20m (charge is approx £4 per day).

• Public toilet and shower facilities approx 50m along the coastal path.

• Drinking water tap approx 50m along the coastal path (same direction as WC and shower).

• The permanent cafe shack has now closed and has been replaced by a refreshments van, however, there are grand plans for a Wide Water Lagoon visitor centre and cafe in the pipeline.

• Lancing Beach Green and The Perch cafe/restaurant are a 10-15 minute walk to the west on the coastal path.

• There are often visiting/mobile saunas.

• The beach is in a seasonal ‘swimming zone’ which is therefore free of fishing, all motor or sail powered vessels, including jet skis. Domestic paddlesport equipment, snorkeling and body boarding are permitted in the swim zones.

• Dogs are permitted on the beach 365 days a year.

• No lifeguard patrols this beach.

ENTER BEACH HUT PRIZE DRAW HERE

But I don’t live nearby!

I get that you might not be able to ‘just pop down’ but this is also your chance to nab a beach hut worth £50k* for just £25. Should you decide that the beach hut is just too far for you should you win, I can recommend some local estate agents who will assist in the sale and will also share to my community too.**

Things to Note (the serious bit!)…

• The beach hut was completely repainted in 2023, but will require regular upkeep and maintenance as you would expect of such a property on the seafront. New barn doors are due to be installed and painted in April - so you’ll have many years of use ahead of you from these.

• Beyond the above maintenance, the beach hut will be cleaned throughout, but is not perfect - it’s a wooden structure on the sea front - it’s wear is commensurate with such.

• There is no running water, electric, gas etc. You are permitted gas cannisters in the hut for the purposes of camping stoves etc and there is a drinking water tap approx 50m away nr the public toilet/shower/cafe facilities.

• Should you win, you would be required to adhere to the Lancing Parish council’s terms/user agreement, to download a copy of this agreement in advance, please click HERE. The winner of the raffle would be required to sign in order to commence their beach hut license.

• Ground Rent (currently) £457 per year is payable each April, although please note 2026-2027 will already be paid.

• Within 28 days of winning, the following documents and details must be submitted to Lancing Parish Council by the outgoing Licensee and/or winner to complete the transaction and transfer ownership of the beach hut:

  1. Photographic ID and proof of address (dated within 3 months for the prospective new owner)

  2. Full contact details of the new owner: Full name, Residential address, Mobile number, Email address

• This raffle is for the beach hut only and the right to have the beach hut on the land/license, the land that the beach hut remains on is owned by Lancing Parish Council.

• You cannot rent out the beach hut or stay in the beach hut overnight.

• In order to take over the transfer of the beach hut license you must reside in England.

• Beach Hut insurance is available and advisable, although not obligatory.

• This prize draw requires a minimum number of tickets be sold prior to the end date, should this minimum not be achieved the prize drawer will be cancelled and the cost of tickets shall be refunded via Givergy to the orginal payment method provided.

• A percentage of proceeds raised from this prize draw are being donated to The Russell Martin Foundation, a charitable organisation that uses the power of football, education and health to inspire and support people of all ages across Sussex and beyond, which has positively impacted our family in so many ways.

*The beach hut was purchased for £50k in 2021 and is currently estimated to be able to achieve the same in the current market. This is not a guarantee of value or sale price, should you decide to sell on the beach hut at a later date.

** The transfer of licence must be completed before the winner can potentially look to sell on the beach hut. Therefore, while I can assist in passing you information, I’m not able to assist further in the sale of the beach hut, this will be your sole responsibility should you win and should you wish to do so.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

I’m really really hoping I’ve answered all questions humanly possible here, but if you can think of one that really needs to be covered, please do pop a comment below…

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And good luck to everyone who take the time to enter - it’s gonna be exciting and I have no idea how it’s gonna go, but either way, it’ll be fun!

Before I get cracking with some delectible preloved crackers, I wanted to say a massive thank you to all 79 people who actually took the time to answer my survey last week, it was endlessly helpful.

After fearing that rambling on about preloved things may have been at tipping point, it turns out 68% of you are here mostly for preloved everything, which is super news as I can talk about that until the cows come home.

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This was followed in second by 23% of you being here for family plans and debriefs - all of which is perfectly do-able. Woohoo.

Thankfully, there was a lot of ‘keep doing exactly what you’re doing’, so that I will - a good old mixture of preloved everything, family life, house plans (which you can get a taste of here), estrangement and a few deep and meaningfuls. The recipes and parenting, can apparently take a bit of a back seat if the survey is anything to go by, which is rather a bonus, as to be honest there are many other people doing both a darn sight better than me!

But if you find yourself at odds to the above, please do have your say, as the survey is still live on the button below:

Have Your Say (just 5 Questions)

It’s worth mentioning that a few people were literally drawing a blank when they hit the button last time, so please do ensure that you’re signed into the app/website using the same subscription email address as you subscribed to me with, and that your app is up to date.

One last thing…

And sorry, just one last thing while I still have you on the edge of your seats for the preloved goodies, tomorrow I will be launching the Beach Hut Prize Draw! Eeekk, yes, we’re giving away the bloody beach hut!

I’m both rather sad and excited, more of the latter thankfully. But as always, completely shitting myself that we won’t sell enough tickets - so please do show up. It’s £25 a ticket, tickets are limited so you’re in with a great chance of actually winning our beautiful beach hut worth £50k, which you can either use, love and cherish for generations to come, or, if you’re a little too far away, flog off and enjoy the chunk of cash!

All the details will be on tomorrow’s post, but just know, I see everyone of you (not in a stalkerish way?!) and appreciate you showing up for me without fail - it honestly blows my mind.

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The Pre-Loved Edit

Welcome to the first Pre-Loved Edit, a weekly round up of the best secondhand finds I’ve spotted (and very nearly kept for myself) in the last 7 days. It’s no secret that I spend an unreasonable amount of time scrolling the likes of Vinted, Ebay and Facebook Marketplace, so this feels like a public service in all honesty.

These pieces have made my list because they’re future heirlooms, under-the-radar gems and simply sublime.

Five finds - no filler - preloved gold only.

This week features a Hannoh top, a ceramic candle holder and a few sheepskin gilets, amongst other goodness.

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This one is a whopper - so grab a cuppa and tuck in. It’s so long in fact, if you’re reading this in your email, you may need to click through to read this in the Substack app or browser.

I was a little lost as to what to share this week for two reasons:

1. I feel like perhaps I’ve got a bit too excited with all the preloved posts and content of late - I have so much to share and say, I could keep going for months without coming up for air. Still very much need to share the Best Preloved Buys of 2025 prt 2, The Best Carboot Sales I’ve Ever Been To, Vinted Finds This Week, Antique Fairs Top Tips and every BTS video from all my jaunts. But I feel that you’re not all here solely for preloved stuff.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a survey to help shape what I’m sharing here, it’s super quick and concise (just 5 questions). It would be a huge help for me and hopefully mean you see a lot more of what you want, if you would take a mo to fill it out…

Complete Short Survey

2. I’ve got so many buzzing plans in my head, that I’m almost not able to see the wood through the trees. It feels as though the January fog is lifting - quite literally too as the days are beautifully longer than ever (even though it’s still raining 27 hours a day! Don’t mention the rain Jess!) - and I have a bit more energy to start tackling new projects. In other words, take my Pinterest boards and make them come to life with the help of some unsuspecting trades people.

Which brings me nicely to today’s post… I thought why not share all those plans and thoughts with you… not only is it fun to know what other people have planned for their spaces, travels and lives, but frankly, it will hold me a little bit accountable to actually seeing these things through!

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Beach Hut News

So one of the biggest happening in the next few months is our decision to part with our gorgeous, beautiful, dreamy beach hut. Even typing that saddens me somewhat. I actually shared all about our beach hut just last year in this post.

Why?

Well, it’s the classic scenario of we’re just not using it enough and in truth, I just can’t justify that huge amount of money being tied up in it. The kids haven’t really ever shown much of an interest for being there - Casper visually convulses at the suggestion of a ‘beach hut day’ and will spend the whole time there either asking to go home or on his pad!

For Russ, who’s spent his whole life surfing, kite surfing and out at sea (so has always had a lot of equipment), is coming to terms with the harsh reality that he is now 54 and when he lands awkwardly from a jump, it could be a painful 6 month recovery. Heading out once or twice a year, just doesn’t warrant needing a fancy storage unit by the sea.

And now having two dogs - not a decision we regret - means beach days in the summer would just become a little manic. Zeph gets the run of the beach in the colder months and can run freely from sea to hut - come the summer, there’s a lot more people laying in between (dogs are still allowed on our beach all year, which is a huge bonus) and she just doesn’t understand the need to be restrained on ‘her beach’. Times that by two and it wouldn’t make for relaxing beach days.

So, it’s all the above, plus a lot of other smaller reasons that have led us to the decision to say goodbye to our little slice of beachside heaven.

But, here’s the good news…

You could potentially win the beach hut cos we’re going to be giving it away! Yup, we’re going to raffle the beach hut instead of selling in the conventional sense.

be first to hear of beach hut raffle

I’m aiming to go live with the online raffle (all being run very above board by the amazing team from Givergy) from the beginning of March, with raffle tickets being limited (so a good chance of winning) and £25. I will of course send out more details soon, but just imagine, you could be spending your days in your very own beach hut later this summer… or at the very least, have a beach side asset worth £50k to do with what you will!!

House, House, House!

We originally ‘renovated’ our house in 2016/2017 and managed to pull out a side and rear extension, completely new heating system, rewire, replaster throughout, new staircase, 2x new bathrooms, new flooring throughout and new kitchen for just over £100k! We were quite literally spent - financially and emotionally.

We just got on with rearing 5 boys, that we never really ‘finished’ it - is any house truly ever finished? And not only was it never truly finished, there were things we definitely could have done better had money, time and lack of decision fatigue allowed.

But I feel rejuvenated at the moment and want to tackle some of the more emabrassing parts of our lovely home - namely, upstairs!

You may have noticed, I don’t often share upstairs. Partly because it’s the space that design forgot (the ‘greyish’ carpet I saw in-store in 2016, turned out to be an odd blue colour when laid - I’ve always hated it and kids’ sick/spillages along the way have only cemented that loathing) but also, it’s the boys’ domain as Russ and I have our bedroom and showeroom downstairs. Ahhh bliss.

Impromptu upstairs tour…

But with a little bit of money saved, and the revelation of having ‘spare rooms’ now some of the boys have flown the nest, it’s time to show this part of the house some love.

Casper’s New Room

Cas will be moving into what was Bruno’s room - it’s the biggest room upstairs, so it’s crazy that B who’s only been home twice in 8 months from his football club should monopolise that space over Casper who is here 24/7.

I’ve accepted a quote to build in the behemoth Ikea Pax wardrobe, will be decorating top to bottom as it’s seen better days (most likely keeping it to the same ‘warm white, but not cream’ as all of downstairs which is a Valspar colour match to Coat Paint’s ‘Screenshot’) and a new carpet throughout upstairs will help as well. Once that’s all done, Cas and I will look to the finishing touches - but right now, we need a clean, fresh slate.

Then I might be able to give a bit of brain space to how Bruno’s new room (aka Casper’s current room) will look, and trying to make it a little less painful for him being downgraded in the bedroom stakes.

The New Carpet

And on that ‘new carpet’, generally speaking I’m not a carpet fan, but equally I find wooden flooring upstair odd too. I toyed with the idea of a cork flooring for a while, but have landed on a recycled plastic bottle alternative to sissal. It looks like sissal, but is softer (as in, it’s actually soft!), is commercial grade (so hopefully can withstand my family), is cleanable and stain resistant! You could even whack this stuff in the bathroom or on your patio!

We’ll be getting the 3 upstairs bedrooms recarpetted first (so the fitted wardrobes can go over the top) - be gone horrific blue shitshow - followed by the hallway and stairs, because first…

New Bathroom!

This will need completely ripping out and carrying through the hall and down the stairs, hence the delay to the carpet and repainting in these spaces.

This poor bathroom got the tail end of what was left from our 2016 budget and it’s lasted just as well as you’d expect from a cobbled together, budget bathroom. But after a cracked bath panel, a few sink leaks leading to swollen particular board and tiling which was shoddy from day 1 leading to untold amounts of horrific things underneath, the time has come to through some money and love into this space.

Most controversially, getting rid of the bath! We’ll be going with a large walk in shower instead, as no one in the house has bathed for years. But why is it, when I mention this, the boys suddenly profess their love for a bath?!

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I’d love to incorporate a reclaimed crittal window as part of the shower partition too - so I’m currently on the hunt for the perfect size.

This won’t be happening until at least mid-late summer, so there’s plenty of time for me to find some preloved elements, plan, change my mind, plan again and save for all the expensive things I find in the meantime (like that brass shower set and taps I’ve been drooling over!)!

Closed Plan

And the final part of this expensive endeavour will be the reversing of our open plan space - kinda! Our snug, kitchen, lounge/family space is one super, open plan living area. But with 2 tvs, an xbox, an extractor fan and everything else in between, it can easily become overwhelming. We need to section it off a little for everyone’s my sanity.

The plan is to whack in some partially glazed door/panel affair into the square arch opening between the kitchen and the snug - creating a smaller room which is where we have a tv, Casper’s Xbox, a sofa and the dining table/work space. Oh to be able to see but not hear my football watching, fry-up cooking family, while I work!

Travels…

For the first time in a couple of years, we don’t have any plans to travel as a whole family of 5-7/8/9 (girlfriend dependent) this year, mostly because the kids adults have a lot of their own plans, and forking out on an extra holiday for them as well as all the above house work, just seemed a little mental.

Plus, I spoke in this post which was about last year’s mega holiday, that it’s really tricky keeping everyone happy these days - those with GFs wanting their own space, me wanting something rustically luxurious, the boys wanting a bit of night life and Cas wanting to make friends and run wild for a week. So I’m kicking that can down the road to next year.

So, with that in mind Russ, Cas and I will be heading off for 6 nights in Essaouira, Morocco. Russ doesn’t ‘do’ city breaks, but my Marrakech itch wasn’t quite scratched last year; Cas hasn’t really experienced anywhere beyond Europe and Turkey’s finest all-inclusives - so Essaouira seemed like a the perfect compromise for the three of us.

We’ll be staying in the gorgeous Le Jardin Des Douars for 6 nights over Easter and I couldn’t be more excited to explore yet another souk, and show my ‘baby’ north Africa and all its beauty, culture and people.

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Then, we’re yet to make any summer plans just yet, as with the arrival of Aggie (the puppy), we halted all further travel plans - but we’ll probably opt for Wales or the South West, bringing the dogs, and probably one of Casper’s friends with us like this trip last year.

But towards autumn, it all hots up again, as Cas and I will be jetting off to Salou, just outside Barcelona, for a football tournament with one of his teams in October half term. We had a great time when we went for the same thing in 2025 - the boys even won the whole tournament - so I have high hopes for this mini football break in the Spanish autumn sun.

And finally, although is 1.2 hours down the road ‘travels’?! I’ve booked myself onto a Merchant & Mills residential sewing retreat at their beautiful Rye location at the beginning of November. It includes a 6 night stay their to-die-for residence in Rye, and tuition from Wendy Hood on making French Mattresses. I love learning new hands-on skills, I love Rye and I love Merchant & Mills, so this is going to be the biggest solo treat of the year.

I’m Making a Candle!

And finally, a little Nomadis update.

I feel while I’m holding myself to account by sharing these things publicly, I may as well share that I’ve been developing candle with the amazing Lucinda of The Burning Bright.

As soon as I walked into my studio space, a former salmon smokehouse, I wanted to capture that smokey, woody, rich and earthy smell - and Lucinda has brought that smell to life with the power of natural oils.

It’s going to be big with a whopping burn time, it’s gonna be 100% natural, it’s gonna be smokey and it’s going to be bloody amazing. But only available in very small batches - sometime soon!

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And lastly, I’m still on the fence about an open day at the studio. I love selling online, as I can reach all corners of the UK while you guys sit at home. Add to that, I worry about having enough stock for an open day, whether too many or not enough people would turn up and all the other 2am thoughts! So we’ll see.

Wow, that’s a lot to hold myself to, but it feels kinda doable. After a few years of not feeling like I’ve moved forward much (maybe more so in 2025, but 2022-2025 felt a little stagnant), I need a year that I can look back on and say “wow, that’ll do!”.

I’ll be sure to take you along for the raffle, reno, travel and Nomadis ride.

Thanks so getting this far my loves - if you have, pop the post a like so I know you’re still here.

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Have a super Sunday and stay cosy.

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Firstly, I humongous thank you to all that showed up, showed an interest, shared, liked and bought from my Nomadis Hom Drop~06. There are a few items still left if you fancy a little peak.

But, I know the real reason you’re here – for all the juicy details of today’s antique attic sale. It was crazy busy with lots of friendly faces and amazing tea & cake to boot. Not sure what more I could have asked for from a rainy Sunday morning.

So, as promised here’s a list of the ladies I bought from, so you can follow them and get all the details of their future events directly…

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How are you? Are you ready for Nomadis Home Drop~06, The Valentine’s Edit?

For all the details on what exactly is available today on Nomadis Home, you can head to this post where you can see pictures and details of exactly what’s available in today’s drop.

Please note, paid subscribers now have 24 hours exclusive access to shop the collection (using the details further down); I will then remove the password access at 8am tomorrow morning for general access, so you can shop any remaining goodies.

In other words, to shop right now and have first dibs, you’re gonna want to be a paid subscriber… please note, if you are subscribing now, you will then need to come back to this post to retrieve the password details, these will not be emailed to you.

Get Early Access

Link and Password To Shop Now…

So, pop to the website on the button below, and then head to ‘Enter Using Password’ towards the top of the page. You’ll then be granted access to the website, where you can shop Drop-06.

It’s worth knowing that until you complete your order, items in your cart are not held for you.

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So, about a week ago, as I starred at the vast collection of beautiful Nomadis goodies in my studio, I spotted a beautiful antique, heart motif rug - it was my lightbulb moment, let’s do a Valentine’s Drop! In all honesty, Valentine’s doesn’t usually tickle my pickle, but if there’s rugs and vintage homewares involved, I may reconsider!

So, I’m here to give all the details of the Nomadis Home Drop~06 going live this Saturday 14th February.

I’m forever endeavouring to make this process as simple and smooth as possible (for all involved), so with that in mind, I’ll be sharing a very broad overview of what’s going to be available - but in short, think pops of (vintage) pink, romantic reds, voluptuous velvets and a few hearts thrown in - and the instructions of how to ensure you bag the goodies you have your eye on.

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How to Shop The Drop

On Saturday morning, at 8am, an email will be sent out to paid subscribers with the drop password and the link - this will give paid subscribers 24 hours early access to shop before anyone else.

If you do not receive the email at 8am promptly - please note that emails can get delayed for a whole host of reasons and I can’t control it once I’ve scheduled for 8am - the safest way to ensure you see the post (as it’s technically just a substack blog post which gets pushed out to your email) is to come to the Substack app or website and refresh for my most recent post. Here’s my main page as a shortcut where it will be front and centre on Saturday morning.

To ensure first dibs on this drop, please consider subscribing to avoid disappointment.

Become a Paid Subscriber HERE

On Sunday 15th February at 8am, the website will then be open for general sale and will remain open for a week or so, before being closed again to prepare for the next drop.

For more info, there’s a handy pinned instagram post right here.

What’s Available?

There are 16 (ish) items available in this drop; I’ve shared more info below. Each is either preloved, vintage, antique or handmade - possibly a combination! So once they’re gone, they’re gone. They will be priced between £15-£595 - so hopefully something for everyone.

As items are old, well travelled and time worn they will come with imperfections, marks, and in some cases need a little airing (which I’ve done a little, but after being packaged and sent, they might require some more fresh air!); I will share as many images as possible to show these things, and highlight them in the description on the shop.

I have chosen not to have any rugs in this drop professionally cleaned - if you would like to, that’s completely your decision. I care for my antique rugs by airing them on the line on a warm day; using an old school rug beater (readily available at carboot sales and antiques fairs for a tenner) to give them a good de-dust; I hoover and I then spray them with Merseille soap spray.)

Hopefully that is a lot of food for thought!

If you are interested in any of these gorgeous pieces, I really can’t urge you enough to consider becoming a paid subscriber for early access to the sale. It’s £5.50 (you can unsubscribe at any time) and acts as your ‘early bird’ ticket to the sale - in the same way I don’t think twice about paying a fiver to get into my fave sales and I don’t even know what’s behind the doors!

Early Bird Access Here

Please can I also ask that you measure and measure again; and please consider the imperfections shared for each item - as returns hugely impact me being able to continue running these drops, I am also not able to accept a return on the basis of a flaw or fault that has been shared.

And any questions at all, NOW really is the time to ask away! If you wait until Saturday, chances are I’ll be in a tech/website frenzy or the special piece you want may have gone.

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See you Saturday my loves…

These videos are for those of you who want a few more details of the carboots I visit - the where and when, a little nosey around, my genuine review of it, all the tips on getting the best bits and of course, the items I bought.

All the details of this morning’s carboot sales…

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Thanks for stopping by at another Behind the Scenes video - I love being able to chat, give more details and just expand on what feels like an ever-shortening reel-length on instagram.

I’ve shared a few of these videos now, from carboot sales and antiques fairs, here’s some other recent ones, in case you missed them:

Also, if you like this kinda stuff - basically, everything preloved and antique - please do consider becoming a subscriber (either free or paid) as you’ll get all this goodness straight to your inbox and be the first to know.

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Right, onto today’s sale, which is always my fave event. The girls behind this morning of fabness tend to put it on 3 times a year, it’s always the perfect way to refresh my wardrobe for the season ahead and get me exciting about getting dressed again.

What I bought…

I’ll list all the brands I bought at the sale below, to help with your preloved searches and ensure that your Vinted ‘for you’ page is showing you the very best of brands - small, wonderfully made and with quality materials.

• Cabbages & Roses oatmeal wool jacket

• Rundholtz Black Label dress - which I won’t be keeping, it’s just not a piece I feel I’ll reach for enough, so if you’d like to pay what I paid for it (all in the video) please drop a comment below. I paired this with a Hannoh Wessel pinstripe jacket I already had.

• Vintage French linen dress which I paired with a vintage Joseph Tricot star jumper bought at a carboot sale last year.

• Black Crane kaftan

• Sula silk skirt, coupled with an old (and shrunk in the wash!) The Knotty Ones black knitted jumper.

• Plumo tea towel top

• Margaret Howell green waxed trench coat

And I was originally wearing: preloved Hannoh Harris Tweed wasitcoat, Cos white tee, preloved Hannoh black tulip skirt, Freight HHG alpaca socks and old See by Chloe boots.

Event Deets & Who to Follow for Future Dates…

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Admittedly, the year starts off a little slow - but it really starts hotting up in March and April with already chockablock calendars, and only more to be added as they get announced.

And as always with these things - as nothing spurs me on more than an impending deadline - this is time sensitive, there’s a cracking preloved clothes sale in Sussex this weekend that you simply have to know about!

So, below are 4 calendars (perfect for printing off): January (I’ve included past dates, as these can still be useful for following the accounts to hear of future events) through to the beginning of May; with more details on each event and a link to their website or instagram, below the calendar images. And, my top pick for each month too - in case you wanted to just pick one to head to.

As I hear of more events and dates, these same calendars will be updated and I’ll pop a little note/chat/email to let you know of the updates.

It’s worth noting, it’s an incredibly curated selection of events - not just any old fair makes it onto my list - I would have to be willing to give up my own time, travel for hours in some cases and pay for entry, for it to make it onto these calendars.

If you’ve ever watched my reels and thought ‘gosh, I want to know about the preloved places she goes to buy all the good stuff!’ - this is for you!

And while I share events as far as Nottingham to Bath, Derbyshire to Somerset - I am based in the South East of England (think Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey), so I will naturally know of and share more events in this area as I’m only one gal trying to find out about as many events as possible. So if you know of an event in another part of the country, that simply has to be on my calendars, please do let me know.

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Right, I’ll stop beating around the bush, we all know why you’re here…

January 2026

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