Category: Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty, Lifestyle

My Spring Fashion Finds

by At Home With The JohnsonsLeave a Comment on My Spring Fashion Finds

Post contains Affiliate links

I have spoken briefly about the fact that I have been on a weight loss journey the past year. I have lost almost four stone through eating well and finding a love for regular exercise and have gone from an unhappy size 18 to a work in progress size 12. I feel so much better and above all much more energetic and happy, while I still have a way to go but I am proud of how far I have come. After surviving lockdown dressed in the few pieces of activewear I had purchased, my thoughts turned to a spring wardrobe sort out, it was not long before I realised that nothing I owned last year fit any more. I made it my mission to list all of my clothes that no longer fit on Ebay and this is what has allowed me to be able to have a cheeky splurge on some new pieces for spring which I thought I would share with my readers. If you are looking for some easy to wear, high street pieces then I hope this post brings you some ideas. I hope you love my recent finds as much as I do!

I will start with a classic staple, the denim shirt dress. I shared this dress on my Instagram Stories last week and was inundated with link requests. Super comfy and easy to dress up or down. This beauty is from ASOS and is currently out of stock, I have found an almost identical River Island one that I love, click here. Alternatively this H&M dress is gorgeous. If you would like to keep an eye out for this dress being re- stocked the product code is 1747037.

Another from my ASOS haul, I just know I will wear this lightweight, mint, shirt dress to absolute death! The colour is gorgeous and it looks great either with or without a belt.

Click Here for the Dress.

Now this is something I would previously not have had the confidence to buy. I absolutely love this puff sleeve, belted playsuit and cant wait to wear it in the summer. The pockets are what sold it to me! I have also worn the belt with other outfits because it is the perfect summer belt. Total bargain and in the sale too! Click here for this beauty.

The hunt for the perfect white blazer was not one without it’s struggles…. and A LOT of returns! This beauty was from H&M and I love the more tailored style. I found with height not being on my side I looked like I was drowning in a lot of blazers.

I am loving these H&M jeans, they are a great colour for spring and the slim fit mom style is more flattering on me than some more baggy style jeans.

Picture the scene, it’s the 21st June, the world has opened up again and Mummy is going out for drinks! I couldn’t not buy this dress! The colour, the fabric, the style, I love it. I teamed it with this metal belt which I know I will wear loads, the perfect way to glam up any outfit. I have just seen H&M have another style in the same fabric, linked here.

I love an item that is multi season and this gorgeous skirt does not disappoint. While spring florals normally only work seasonally, the orange tones mean that this skirt would be a staple teamed with tights, boots and a leather jacket during A/W too. The fit is perfect, nipping in the waist and the light fabric is perfect for summer. I have teamed this with trainers buy can’t wait to crack the sandals out.

Another one I shared on my Instagram Stories last week, this dress is perfect for spring. Slightly thicker in material than the other denim shirt, I love this teamed with my Veja trainers for a casual spring look.

These linen blend dresses were shared to death online last year and it’s no wonder. The perfect casual dresses, they are lightweight, the perfect length and super comfortable. I belted this white dress for a more dressed up look. I also have it in black as seen below. Really rate these and a total bargain.

I picked up this cute striped top from H&M, teamed with jeans or denim shorts this is perfect for bringing a touch of sunshine to any outfit.

I hope you enjoyed this little haul and I will share more pieces as I get them. You can check out other items I have my eye on in the ‘Fashion Finds‘ section of the blog.

Chynna x

Interiors, Lifestyle

Transforming Our Living Space With MuralsWallpaper

by At Home With The JohnsonsLeave a Comment on Transforming Our Living Space With MuralsWallpaper

What can a mural do for my space?

Everyone has a wall that they have no idea what to do with, a problematic blank space, a large blank canvas, a wall for which you cannot seem to find a purpose. It’s blankness is an ocean of possibilities but perhaps it seems too daunting to decide what to do with it. A mural feature wall is the perfect way to give any room a wow factor, a great way to introduce a key colour into a neutral space while adding texture and interest to your room.

Look no further than MuralsWallpaper to transform your space with style. MuralsWallpaper offer an incredible selection of murals, patterns and photo wallpapers to suit all ages and styles. Challenging the boundaries of what wallpaper can do by offering pioneering designs, their wallpaper murals are designed to complement any home decor style. We chose this Adhere, concrete effect paper to create a dramatic wall that adds a look of texture and depth against a neutral colour palette. The mural features a faux cement texture effect that will give your wall a rustic yet stylish appearance. This wallpaper offers a subtle and neutral block colour style, which is significantly enhanced by its rough faux cement appearance.

How Do I order mine?

The ordering process could not be more simple! We simply measured our wall and added the measurements into the calculator to create our custom fit mural. The design team make the mural to fit any size or shape of wall. Once you send the requirements to the design team, they send a mock-up of your wall mural before they produce it. The mural arrived quickly and well packaged.

Was it hard to hang?

After some bad experiences in the past, my husband was a bit sceptical about using any kind of wallpaper or mural. After reading about the simplistic process of using a MuralsWallpaper and falling in love with their fabulous designs I set upon my mission to change his mind! Of course, my powers of persuasion worked their magic and he agreed! The Mural arrived promptly and packaged in a nifty tube to keep it safe and pristine. Included in the tube was a fantastic step by step guide which was easy to follow and made hanging the mural an absolute breeze! The whole installation was faultless and we are thrilled with our mural. Here’s how we did it….

How we did it

The first steps we took were in preparation, we ensured the wall was smooth, clean and completely dry. Our wall was imperfect with old plaster, but we took steps to ensure that the wall was filled where needed and smooth from sanding. This handy guide on the MuralsWallpaper website helped us identify how best to prepare our wall surface for the mural. To begin the installation, we rolled out a section of paper and used the handy cutting lines provided to create our first drop. The drops are numbered and roll out staggered in a way that the tops and bottoms of the drops match. We then brushed on ‘paste the wall’ paste ready to apply the first strip. Unlike so many wallpapers, the paper was thick and robust so there was no fear of tearing while fitting. You can be assured that all of MuralsWallpaper murals are created using British paper sourced from FSC regulated forests. They also use water- based links so are environmentally friendly. Every wallpaper is made to order which is great for the environment, keeping waste to an absolute minimum.

We had cables in place to fit wall lights once the wallpaper installation was complete, we made a small slit in the paper to pull these cables through carefully. We repeated the process across the whole wall and could not believe how quickly we finished, the whole wall took less than an hour and a half including a tea break!

The Wall Lights fitted
Adding accessories to the wall
The wall creates a great backdrop for blue accessories

As you can see the mural creates the perfect feature backdrop for our living space. I added hints of blue in my accessories to compliment the colour of the wallpaper. I am thrilled with the finished look and can’t fault our experience with MuralsWallpaper. From the ordering process to the installation, MuralsWallpaper truly have made creating unique and stylish looks super simple and affordable. With a fabulous range of designs from funky florals to textured looks there is something for every space. I hope you love it as much as we do!

This post contains gifted items however all words and opinions are my own.

Chynna x

Lifestyle

On my mind- April 2020

by At Home With The JohnsonsLeave a Comment on On my mind- April 2020

Despite one of my new years resolutions being to write more, lets face it, 2020 hasn’t exactly turned out to be what any of us imagined it would. I have been dodging my laptop in fear of producing content that seems unimportant at such an unprecedented time, when many are going through some of the hardest times of their lives. So I thought the best way to get back into the swing of blogging again is to have an open therapy session with my laptop and of course you lot!

Coronavirus Chat

I am not even going to go in to how hard it is not seeing family, visiting our favourite places and staying home, because it isn’t hard. Hard is loosing people you love to something like this and we have a duty to do as we are bloody told to protect those we love. In a word, the whole situation is horrific, as an emotional person my heart actually hurts for every person who has been affected or lost a loved one. I remember when the death toll first hit 200 cases a day having a total blub, the thought of that many people missing a loved one was just heart-breaking, yet here we are, loosing so many more and although as sad as ever, I feel as if I am growing some kind of thick skin, almost a numbness to the daily figures. I can’t decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing? I have always been someone who over thinks every situation, struggles with a lack of control and sudden change. I truly feel that out of this god awful situation I am learning to let go, realise that sometimes there are some things that I have no control over and to live in the moment more- as cliché at that sounds.

Money

Ahhhh the world of Instagram, influencers showing their mass online loungewear purchases, posts about online shopping to pass the lockdown time and a steady stream of affiliate links to high end skincare. I am not throwing shade on anyone, after all social media is some peoples only income and people need income more than ever right now. I have recently reached the big 10k followers and with this comes the opportunity to make some pocket money doing something I genuinely enjoy, I do however know that remaining conscious of the current climate will always be my top priority. Fact of the matter is that we are a single earner household and my husband has been furloughed due to the pandemic. There are ALWAYS going to be people worse off, I feel blessed that he has been furloughed and not made redundant, I feel equally blessed that we don’t have the worry of being self employed at this time. We are the lucky ones in this situation, but the cold hard facts still stand, that even with the government support of £2500 (before deductions) a month, it is significantly less than his usual monthly income and we are a family of five who have spent a year forking out every penny of our disposable income on a renovation. In short we are going to struggle over the next few months. We have had to take a Mortgage holiday and we have given ourselves a tight budget of £90 a week for food and spends, with these actions alone we are fortunate that our remaining bills will be paid and food will be on the table, but it goes without saying, there will be NO mass loungewear orders here.

Home Educating The Children

What a learning curve this has been. This is actually the thing I am finding is affecting my mental health most. Isabella is 10 going on 16 and often, my requests for her to get on with school work is met with rolling eyes and hunched shoulders. Sophia needs carrying through every single piece of work with an adult and up until my husband was furloughed, I was tackling this and my 3 year old wild child alone, while he worked from home. I am doing my best, I can promise that, but I can’t help but let feelings of doubt creep in that my best isn’t enough. I don’t think home learning is something we will ever fall in to a nice little routine of. As with every one of these unprecedented situations we are finding ourselves in, I am trying to concentrate on the things that I am grateful for and I am grateful that the children are at home, safe, well and spending quality time with us as a family….. oh and Gin…. big shout out to Gin.

I feel so much better for having a brain dump post and I truly hope that when I touch base again next month, the world is being kinder to everyone. I know there are people who will read this that are in a far worse situation than us and to you I send a huge virtual hug. If anyone ever wants a chat, you know where I am.

Chynna xxx