Tuesday evening MOH turned to me and asked when were we putting up our Christmas decorations as we were the only people without any. This took me a little by surprise and while I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones without decorations yet - looking across the street I can't see any - I thought I'd better start to get my act together.

Earlier that day I'd seen a tweet from Susie Watson Designs asking who was planning on making their own wreath this year. I replied saying I'd love to, but I wasn't sure it would be anywhere near presentable, but Susie promised me it wasn't as hard as I thought, and then she said a glass of wine was recommended. Well, hello - it was sounding better by the minute. I read the tips she shared - and it really didn't seem that hard.

So I took it to be fate. Especially as I'd noticed that our next door neighbour had had their evergreen hedge trimmed and some of the trimmings had fallen over the fence. Definitely meant to be.

The key it seems is to create bunches of greenery and add those to the wire ring. I popped round to the local florists for a wire ring and stubbing wire - see I've even got the lingo now - and while there I also picked up some small wired silver baubles and some dried orange slices, so after spending just over a fiver on these, I was all set.

I decided there was no time like the present so I popped into the garden and gathered the evergreen trimmings along with some holly, rosemary, bay leaves and variegated ivy - one of the few times of year I'm pleased our garden has so much holly and ivy! I wasn't sure how much I'd need and I think I went a bit overboard...

So I started by creating my bunches of greenery and then it was time to start adding them to the ring. Now don't laugh but I'd repurposed the dining room table as a temporary florists bench and for some reason I hadn't taken my gilet and scarf off from my earlier trip to the florist either - it definitely made me feel more florist-y and I'm sure helped me believe I could do actually do this.

Phew, well that seemed easy enough. And I'd forgone the glass of wine too, I thought half three in the afternoon a tad early, even for me...

So with the base greenery attached, and not looking like it might fall off - I turned it upside down to check - I moved on to the decorative leaf bunches. I added bunches of rosemary to the bottom of the wreath, with a mixed bunch of bay and holly in the centre.

I added more holly and bay bunches towards the top of the wreath - I struggled with the ivy, so decided to give that a miss even though it's variegated leaves were dead pretty. And then I was pretty much done. I picked it up again and nothing fell off - phew! - it looked fairly neat on the back I thought too.

Then I remembered the silver baubles and the dried orange slices. I didn't need both and with only one piece of wire and eight orange slices, I decided to use the wired silver baubles!

The baubles were actually the hardest thing to add. Not because of the wires, but just knowing where and how to position them. In the end I decided on a spotty approach, fastening them to the greenery at the front and back.

And I was done and feeling pretty pleased with myself too. It wasn't as hard as I'd anticipated and I think this passes as presentable. It's definitely going on our front door, let's just hope it lasts!

And those orange slices? Well I've so much greenery left I'm back off to the florists later on for another ring and some more wire so I can make another one, they're addictive! And maybe, I'll try it with a glass of wine too...

Earlier in the week I found myself in central London with some time to explore, and as luck would have it I was close to Tottenham Court Road so there were two places on my list to visit. One of those was West Elm, I'd seen brochures and browsed heavily online but had never quite made it to their flagship store in the UK, that is until now.

The large cardboard Christmas decorations went well with the "neutrals" colour scheme on the ground floor, and I was particularly taken with the stag!

This felt wreath would look great almost anywhere and it's "handcrafted of 100% wool by skilled artisans in Nepal" - I love those birds just nestling in there.

As you'd expect there were many Christmas decorations out - I particularly liked the bottle brush animal ornaments and there's a llama, snow leopard, swan, duckling, artic fox and I'm sure that's a seal I've photographed below.

And to complement all the white decorations, there was glitter - it just works - in fact that's especially true at Christmas, glitter always works. The glitter burst ornament below looked good hung on the tree, but would look equally good hung in a window or from a shelf.

I'd seen West Elm's flameless candles online and wasn't really sure about them. Now having seen them in person I think they'd be a great alternative for real candles and don't look overly plasticky and fake as they have a wax exterior. They're battery-operated with LED lights and what's more there's an automated shut-off timer. What candle has that, hey?

I liked the little vignettes around the store and moving downstairs it was clear that this had a blue, grey and yellow scheme - which was pleasing (and useful) as I'm still looking out for some new bedding for our new black-grey-yellow bedroom and I discovered some possibles.

Throughout the store I was aware of the use of textures, something it's all too easy to forget in our own homes. I'm a typical magpie and am drawn to the bright, shiny, glittery things... But adding softer textures can add warmth and interest, and if your house is anything like ours they can help absorb some of the echoes, or what MOH would call boom...

I may be making a return visit for one of these...

Back upstairs and I ventured into the kitchen area and immediately realised it was another place I should give a very wide berth! These Jimbobart bone china mug sets look great fun.

And I was in bowl heaven. Next time I'm in the market for bowls I'm definitely coming back - I've no idea which colours and patterns I'd go for and would no doubt spend too much time deliberating, then realise I could only have ten or so and so try and negotiate that number upwards by at least double! What do you mean, what would I need twenty bowls for? ...I'm sure I'd find a use for each and every one of them, and it's a good point, I'll work on my case...

OK I've moved away from the bowls. But I've made a mental note of these cube tissue box covers, I like their simplicity and because you never know when you might need this kind of information...

So before I left there was just a final opportunity to admire these boxes again, and - hint, hint - one of these would make a great gift and it may just be going straight to the top of my Christmas list (...ok it's already there!)

This is definitely on my Christmas list!

So while I didn't make any purchases on this visit, I've a feeling it's only a matter of time and I know I'll be back! And next up was Paperchase just down the road, where I knew I was unlikely to leave empty handed (and I was right!)