Friday Favourites - Mother's Day Feature

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know that we’ll never be able to repay our mum’s for the endless amount of love and support they give us. We may not get to see our mum’s regularly, but we always think about them and how much they have impacted our lives. This Mother’s Day, we wanted to give you a proper gift guide designed to please your mum, since she deserves only the best on this day and every day. 

To help your mum unwind on her special day, treat her with a beautiful quotation candle from Not on the High Street.

You can choose from four different quotations to put on the candle, including “A mother holds her child’s hand for a short while but their hearts forever” and “Mum, I know you’ve loved me as long as I’ve lived, but I’ve loved you my whole life” and two other sweet phrases. After the quotation, you also have the option to customize the signature, which a remark such as “you’re the best,” followed by your name.

In addition to the four different quotations you can choose from, the candles come in four colours to choose from: light stone, medium stone, pale rose and duck egg blue. It’s made from 100% natural soy wax and has an average burn time of 35-40 hours. The gift wrapping is also included with the price, plus you have the option to add a personalized gift tag to the candle to make it extra special.

Order your candle here for £25 and give your mom a long-lasting gift this year.

To give your mum time to reflect this mum’s day, give her this bold “I Love My Mum” notebook from Smythson. She can gather all of her thoughts and record all of her goals and dreams in this stylish notebook.

Featuring a lambskin cover, in a fun hot pink colour with shiny gold text, this notebook makes a statement and lets the world know how much you love your mum. It’s filled with 96 leaves of lined, pale blue, featherweight paper designed to capture every note or idea written on every page. Just like any quality journal, a sturdy pink ribbon bookmark is attached so your mum can mark her most recent page. It’s portable, easy to carry and will always remind her of you.

Head to the Smythson website here to get this lovely notebook for your mum for £35.

To add a sweet touch to your mum’s bathroom, pick up a few bars of the Lavender Hand Soap from Dr. Harris and Co. for a beautifully scented hand washing experience.

The soap is designed for delicate skin, so it will not cause any irritation if sensitive skin is an issue your mum deals with. It lathers extremely well, so let all of the lavender-scented suds wash away any impurities while deeply moisturising your skin. Hand washing just got a lot more luxurious.

Get a three-bar pack of these adorable soaps here for £17.50.

For a gift your mum can display for all to see, we recommended a Mother’s Day inspired flower bouquet from The Flower Stand Chelsea. With all of the vibrant colours and varieties to choose from, you can choose an arrangement that suits your mom and her personality perfectly.

The Flower Stand shop can be found near Fulham Road and Old Church Street, with clientele ranging from footballers to film stars. The prices of their flowers are some of the most competitive in London and are of very high quality. When you mum receives one of the bouquets, the flowers will be in top-notch condition. They are shipped from Holland overnight, and then are cut and arranged into vases within 24 hours.

The Mother’s Day arrangements come in a variety of colours, ranging from white to yellow to pink to red. Some of the flowers you can choose include lilies, roses, tulips and lilacs, depending on whatever your mum prefers.

Head to the Mother’s Day section of their website here and check out all of the different arrangements you can choose from, starting at £35.

Of course, Mother's Day wouldn't be complete without a special treat. Macarons by Babette will be having a pop up shop just in time for the holiday.

These macarons compare with the best of French macarons. With flavours like pistachio, raspberry, salted caramel and lemon, they are almost impossible to resist! These lovely treats are sold in beautiful gift boxes that your mum will love.

The pop up shop will be on 62 Old Church Street and will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 14th March and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 15th March. Can't make it to the shop? Not to worry, you can order your box of 20 Macarons by Babette here for £23.

Friday Favourites - Valentine's Day

To quote Robert Smith (lead singer of the Cure) “It’s Friday and [we’re] in love!” Yes, today is the day when lovers all over the world will be showering their loved ones with heart-felt messages and gifts. Don't worry if you don’t have a partner, why not just treat yourself! But for those of you that will be spreading the love, we here at The Amazing Blog have compiled a few of our Valentine’s Day favourites to help get you on your way.

Let’s start by setting the mood or the ‘ambiance’ for this special date night. Ancienne Ambiance is a British luxury brand that produces luxury goods and utilises fragrances that are inspired by ingredients and techniques from ancient times. They offer an array of beautifully candles, soaps, bath salts and oils. Their products are hand-poured and delivered in elegant purple (our favourite colour!) hand-crafted gift boxes. The brand has recently introduced the Lavendula Collection, which features top quality, pesticide-free lavender which is produced in both France and UK. From the Lavendula Collection, we particularly love the soaps and bath salts which immediately fill the office with an aroma of calming lavender (much needed to calm our hectic days...). The Lavendula Beauty Gift Set in full of lots of gorgeous goodies that  include a pillar candle, three soaps, bath & body oil and salts. The set is a perfect way of giving your loved one a relaxing evening and can be found here.

Given that Ancienne Ambiance specialises in the art of luxury candle making, we must mention their limited edition Valentine’s Day, Red Eros Rose Scented Candle. This premium three wick candle is scented with the most delicious Damascan Roses. It uses slow burning beeswax and best of all has no wax dripping issues. The Damascan Roses are used in particular to make a variety of rose-scented products due to their rich, floral scent therefore this candle is sure to fill the room with a sweet and irresistible fragrance. The candle is available here for £34.

If you want something a bit more unusual, why not give your loved one a unique one-of-a-kind vase filled with allegedly a 'thousand rose petals’. Ashleigh & Burwood creates home fragrances that are meant to beautify and enhance your home’s ambience through fragrance. Ashleigh & Burwood offers the Decadent Diffuser Gift Set which includes the scent of a ‘thousand rose petals’ in an artisan-made vase with mosaic detailing, guaranteeing no two vases are ever the same. This diffuser gives off a velvety, red rose scent that is enhanced with warm subtle spices and a twist of exotic ylang ylang. Ylang ylang is found in Southeast Asia and is used to relieve stress, induce happiness and act as an aphrodisiac. The diffuser gift set is available for £22.50 and can be found here.

Next we have a sweet treat for your date night courtesy of Charbonnel et Walker. They are the  purveyors of fine chocolates and have been crafting chocolates since 1875. For Valentine’s Day they offer various gift sets for that special someone. We were lucky enough to try the Truffle Kisses box which includes the signature Pink Marc de Champagne and the new Raspberry Marc de Champagne Truffles. We were excited to try these and they didn't disappoint with their decadent champagne kisses! The truffles have a hard pink chocolate shell that unveiled a delicate, chocolate filling, which was infused with hints of raspberry and champagne perfect for a romantic night in. The chocolates are hand-made and follow a traditional recipe which is couverture (which means the chocolate has a higher cocoa butter content) giving the chocolate a unique richer and silkier taste. The boxes come with complimentary gift wrapping thus making the presentation beautiful and hassle free!  The boxes are available in store or online here for £20.And if that dose of sweetness was not enough, pick up a box of Macarons by Babette. Babette is relatively new (launching in March 2013) and they supply to various cafes around London including Le Pain Quotidien  restaurants. Le Pain Quotidien offers macarons in boxes of two or six, but Macarons Babette takes on much larger orders depending on the occasion and event. If you really want to go over the top and ‘wow’ your partner, Macarons by Babette even offers a whole tower of macarons! Whatever your needs this Valentine’s Day, Macarons by Babette are sure to have a flavour for you. You can order yours online or find a supplier here.

Lastly, we have something that incorporates everything  for Valentine’s Day. It is an all-inclusive hotel that showers you and your lover in chocolaty delights. The Chocolate Boutique Hotel is located in Bournemouth, Dorset. It  houses 15 chocolate-themed rooms. They are offering three packages for Valentine’s Day but recommended the double room package as it includes a one nights’ accommodation, breakfast, a bottle of their Exclusive Spanish Cava, their Belgian Chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows to dip and a slab of chocolate with your very own personalised message.  There is also a chocolate workshop allowing you and your partner to learn about the origins and art of chocolate-making To book your night and see which package is right for you, go here.

 Whatever you and your partner decide to do tonight, we hope our suggestions inspire you!  We here at the Amazing Blog wish you a fun, passionate and decadently sweet evening!