Hey! It’s been a bit quiet around here of late but if you follow us on Instagram you will know we are still very much alive and kicking. The content may have changed a bit (*cough* kids *cough*) but there are still colourful dresses to be found, we promise.
Anyway, as we get a lot of messages asking for recommendations for places to take kids in Bristol, we thought we would start #sheandhembristolkids as a way to keep all our favourite places together and easily accessible! We want to feature everything from cafes to playgroups to parks and will include Bristol and the surrounding area. We know that not everyone is on Instagram so we thought people might find it useful if we popped them on here too…….
First up….
Cabot Circus Feeding Room
We really wanted to feature the amazing family room at Cabot Circus as we had a feeling a lot of people didn’t know it existed. Turns out, we were right! Here’s what we wrote about it on the ‘gram…
The Cabot Circus Family Room is such a well thought out space and the perfect place to escape to for a feed or change. It’s located at the end of the corridor where the toilets are and you have to press a button on the wall to access it. It’s a sliding door so no crashing the pram into anything as you enter. Inside you’ll find a very clean area that has, we kid you not, the relaxing sound of bird song being pumped into it. You are suddenly transported a million miles away from the Zara sale! Anyone with little ones is welcome to use the space. There’s a toilet for the big ones and a changing area for the little ones, with a little vending machine containing the essentials you might have run out of. There are private feeding areas that have a comfy chair, a little table and a plug socket (see, well thought out). There’s also WiFi 😉 There’s a little kitchen area that has a microwave plus one of those genius taps that does instant boiled water. Perfect for bottles! There’s also a nice corner area full of books and seating for older kids. It’s great if you’ve got an older one who has to sit around whilst you feed a baby. You can sit comfortably and feed/change whilst the older one has a safe space to play. Speaking of safe, there are also little alarm systems dotted around the space that you can use should, for some reason, you not feel comfortable. The last time we visited, a security guard also popped in to make sure everyone was happy.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, love is seriously in the air at Cabot Circus! A quick stroll around our local Bristol shopping centre will see you surrounded with hearts, flora and a heck of a lot of red hues. It’s all rather romantic, innit. Now if, like us, you’ve never been particularly organised when it comes to the buying of Valentine’s day gifts then the good news is Cabot Circus have got you covered. They are offering free 30 minute personal shopping sessions this weekend (10th and 11th February) from 11 until 5. That’s TODAY, people! Just pop along and see them in the central space outside House of Fraser and their team of personal shoppers will help you find the perfect gift for your special someone, whatever your budget! Winner.
To get you all in the loved up mood, the team challenged the two of us to go head to head in the search for the perfect Valentine’s gift! We decided to go for a Galentine’s affair and choose gifts for each other (standard) and went well and truly wild in the Cabot aisles looking for dreamy ideas. If you fancy a serious shopping spree, check out how to enter our competition at the bottom of the post to win a £50 Cabot Circus Gift Card! A little Valentine’s gift from us to you.
We both had great success in Tiger, who have got a huge amount of Valentine’s gifts on offer to suit everyone’s budget. They’ve got everything covered from novelty socks, toiletries, confectionery and crockery! Even their boxes of plasters are romantic! It’s all there and it’s all festooned with hearts.
If you’re other half is a foodie then you’ll be pleased to know that Krispy Kreme have gone all lovey-dovey on us with special edition doughnuts on offer! You can pick up The Valentine’s Dozen for £13.45. Failing that, Hotel Chocolate have got some beautiful gifts on offer ranging from small bags of chocolate hearts to entire hampers of goodies.
Topshop, Monki and Urban Outfitters have all got some pretty cool gifts on offer. We both love the cute heart top from Topshop and bag from Monki. You can’t have too many hearts in February, can you? Neither of us had been into Monki before but my goodness, we are complete converts. Colourful fun clothes at really affordable prices, it’s pretty dreamy in there.
So what did we choose for each other, we hear you cry! Well, Jo is a librarian so those adorable children’s books from Foyles and her were always going to be a match made in heaven. The artwork is just beautiful and I was thinking she would enjoy reading them to Poppy too. I also had to pick up a copy of ‘Read This If You Want To Be Instagram Famous’ from Urban Outfitters so she can spend Valentine’s Day tackling Instagram’s Algorithm! In return, Jo picked up the ‘Love Always Wins’ tee for me from Monki and I love it! I can’t wait to wear it on the 14th of Feb. She also chose a wonderful Paperchase mug emblazoned with our favourite F word. I think we both did rather well!
Hopefully we’ve inspired you to get shopping for your other half (or your bestie!) this weekend. If you’re in Bristol, definitely pop along and take advantage of the personal shoppers, it will take away the stress of all that last minute gift buying! You can find out everything you need to know about it here.
Lots of love!
J&V
This post was written in collaboration with Cabot Circus
Now that we’ve got the girls, we are all about that family-friendly life. We spend a lot of time Whatsapping eachother (and our NCT mates) places we’ve found that are good for the little ones and it’s always super useful to know where is good to take them. One place that ticks a lot of boxes for us is Cabot Circus, who spend a lot of time ensuring kids of all ages (plus their parents!) are well catered for. One thing we love about Cabot Circus is that everything is under one big ol’ glass roof. There’s ample parent and child parking available and they have excellent changing facilities, including feeding rooms.
We popped down during half-term to check out their young hero super-school for a masterclass in superhero style. Poppy and Ada were a little young for the craft activities but there were lots of young heroes having the time of their lives designing capes, cuffs and masks! POW! Give it a few years and it will be Awesome Ada and Power Poppy to the rescue.
We left the bigger kids to the crafts and hit the shops! We had a grand old time swooning over the girls dresses in Monsoon and may have made a cheeky purchase in Zara. We always love a shop that caters for both Mum and baby! We also had a little gander in Smiggle to pick up some bubbles and bells as we are big baby sensory fans!
Speaking of baby sensory, we went for dinner at Yo Sushi which proved to be a big hit with the girls! They loved the lights, the noise, and all the sushi whizzing round! It proved the perfect distraction for them, while we sampled some of the new things on the menu. The Okonomoyaki and Salmon & Yuzu Tartare were especially fabulous and we are now addicted to Ramune Soda. The new menu is also great for those who aren’t big sushi fans as they have added a market foods section so you can sample some different styles of Japanese food. This was the first time my (Jo) husband and notorious hater of sushi, James, had visited and he was thrilled to discover that he was well-catered for. We were all pleasantly surprised by how family-friendly Yo Sushi proved to be as it wouldn’t be the first place you would think of when dining out with two babies under six months. The staff went out of their way to make sure the babies were well looked after and Poppy really enjoyed her egg shaped high chair! We were really impressed that the high chair can be tipped backwards to accommodate smaller babies and the changing facilities were fantastic.
Our next Cabot Circus mission is to try the baby cinema at Showcase Cinema De Lux on a Thursday morning. Has anyone been?
J&V xxx
*Cabot Circus very kindly provided our meal at Yo Sushi! but all opinions are our own.
Hello and welcome to the 30th Accessories to Murder! Are you ready to delve into the world of amazing accessories? Excellent. Before we crack on, just a heads up, this particular Accessories to Murder contains a sponsored link but please be assured we only feature the accessories we consider tip top! Without further ado, here are the accessories that have made it onto this week’s She and Hem’s Most Wanted.
Honey, could this sun hat bee any cuter? I don’t think so! And hive fives all round for that incredible name. Modcloth are the ultimate product naming champions, which just makes me love them even more. If you love them too, you need to buy this hat, but also check out our guest blogger Holly’s awesome post about their Modcloth IRL Tour this Summer.
Oh hello there you incredibly jazzy little two-tone gem. This Topshop bag is all kinds of zig-a-zag-ah. Now I’m not quite sure what that means, but Mel B once told me it was a good thing. The contrasting colours of this boxy crossbody give it a really groovy 70s vibe, which just so happens to be one of my favourite fashion eras.
One thing I’ve discovered recently is that Aspire Style don’t just sell excellent dresses, oh no, they have so many great accessories too. In fact, I think I could fill a whole Accessories to Murder with their bits! For now, I have chosen my favourite item which are these glittery cat eye sunglasses in blue and gold. Purrfect! If you spot anything you fancy online, use the Aspire Style discount code SHEANDHEM for a tasty 10% discount. You are welcome.
I’m not sure, but this could this be the perfect demin jacket. It is on the pricey side compared to the other items in today’s round up, but I have been told by people older and wiser than myself that jackets are something you should invest in, so you can wear them year after year. Light denim is not for everyone, but I love it and find it a lot more versatile than the darker alternatives. Check out Paige Jeans to see the jacket’s cute embroidered back, and feel free to let me know if I’m not really cool enough to pull it off!
Hold up! Is it a bag? Is it a hat? Oh my goodness, it’s both! What a world we live in, first friendly robots that can perform heart surgery, and now bags in the shape of hats. Whatever next? Anyway, sandwiched between the two more expensive (but equally fabulous) items, I’ve popped in this novelty bag bargain. £14.69 for a bag that’s also a hat? You can do no wrong.
Speaking of which, Orla Kiely can do no wrong in my eyes. They are my all time favourites. Every London Fashion Week, it’s the Orla show that Jo and I go completely gaga over, and they never disappoint. Their clothing just gets better and better and their new collection is some of their best yet. My number one item from the collection is this flower pot cardigan. Quirky yet simple. Pretty yet practical. Never change Orla!
We are both huge Crown and Glory fans so we were so very excited to hear that their Candy Shop pop-up in House of Fraser #cgxhof, was going to be coming to Bristol. What was doubly exciting was that the wonderful Sophie and Hayley from Blogclub had only gone and arranged a special Crown and Glory Blogclub event, pretty cool huh? Although the tickets sold out in under one minute (Bristol gals love a flower crown dontyaknow), we were lucky enough to get on the guest list and went on a jolly jaunt down to Cabot Circus in Bristol to create some beautiful bespoke floral goodies.
After sipping on a glass of fizz and scoffing a tasty cupcake, the lovely Sophie asked us to look at the array of glorious flowers and pop our favourites into a pot (as seen below), ready for herself and Gareth to work their magic. They are both too talented for words and watching them work away with such passion and precision was truly inspiring. Not only is Gareth a whizz at knocking up a stunning floral crown, but we also overheard that he made the fabulous cart workstation. Our new favourite flower-power couple for sure.
Whilst chatting to our favourite local blogger babes (including the lovely Emily from Mermaid Gossip pictured above and Sarah pictured below), we delved straight in and chose a magnificent mixture of yellows and oranges and pinks and reds. It’s all about the colour with Crown and Glory! Both of our crowns were created by Gareth who spent so much time and attention on them, we are absolutely thrilled with the results. Look out for them popping up very soon in an upcoming style post.
Crown and Glory are definitely the place to go to for loud and proud floral crowns, sparkly bows and perfect wedding accessories. If you live in the South West, they are going to be in House of Fraser at Bristol Cabot Circus today until Sunday 15th May, but if you don’t get chance to pop down to the Candy Shop, you must check out their website. It’s just so pretty.
On a sunny evening last week I caught up with a few local bloggers to eat and drink our merry way around the centre of Bristol to celebrate the launch of SummerDine at Cabot Circus. We made a rendezvous at Coal for a catch up over cocktails. Unfortunately, I needed to drive to the event, so I wasn’t able to indulge quite as much as I would have liked, but I took contentment in giving my cocktails to a very loved up couple in the corner of the restaurant. Bless ’em. I’m almost Valentine by name (7 weeks to go!) , but certainly Valentine by nature!
For our mains, we popped down a level in Cabot to TGI Friday’s, where I found myself quickly distracted by the mountains of meat on offer. It must be my short attention spam…
As well as tasting the new menu, I volunteered to try my hand as a mixologist, as I do love to lift people’s spirits! As you can see by the picture below, the guys at TGI’s were astounded by the amount of maple syrup I decided to put into my concoction. Next time I’ll have to use it a little more syrup-titiously…Kudos to Lily for tasting the scotch bonnet and posing with the biggest piece of steak I’ve ever seen. Bristol bloggers got beef, but only the good kind!
The last stop on our foodie tour was dessert at Brasserie Blanc in Quakers Friars. Ooh La La! Emily and I chose the chocolate souffle with pistachio ice cream. Merci beaucoup and bien joué to Raymond Blanc for creating that little piece of chocolate heaven. Now I know why you are (probably) the nations favourite Frenchman! Désolé, Monsieur Ginola.
Don’t worry if you don’t have an iPhone or Android, you can download and print out all of the SummerDine offers right HERE!
To celebrate the three day weekend, we took some of our best chums along to TGI Friday’s in Bristol’s Cabot Circus to try out their new burger menu and sample all of the cocktails. Thumbs up to that! Although they have over 500 unique cocktails, surprise surprise, we were both drawn to those containing gin. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to try them all but we gave it a good crack!
If you would like to have your own TGI Friday’s feast, you should totally enter our giveaway to win £50 in vouchers to spend at a TGI Friday’s of your choice. To enter simply fill in the rafflecopter below. There are lots of different ways to win! Good Luck!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bristol, especially at House of Fraser in Cabot Circus, who held their glitzy press Christmas Party last week. Welcomed by a glass of pink fizz, the mood was merry, the staff were splendid and the decor was adorned with all things CHRISTMAS!
The chic event was held on the top floor of House of Fraser in the luxurious Zest Bistro, which had been suitably spruced up for the occasion. Fairy lights glimmered, cute Christmas characters contested for our attention and bright baubles embellished the trees. A particular highlight was sampling Zest’s salmon canapes, spicy chicken skewers and mini mince pies. Delicious! Not to mention our first glass of mulled wine this festive season! Continue reading She and Home: House of Fraser Christmas Party→
After a lovely sunny day spent browsing the Vintage Kilo Sale at Paintworks in Bristol. We headed to a small shopping party held at Aldo in Cabot Circus, to take advantage of their 15% discount on all shoes and accessories while quaffing some champers and devouring some battenberg cake. We are totally crushing on all of the ankle boots and brogues, so we will be crossing all of our fingers and toes that we win the raffle!
Aldo’s vision is to make people feel good through the products they provide. We would certainly feel good if we owned some of these amazing shoes. I was a big fan of the Nogoya red brogues, while Jo found true love with these Alcidine ankle boots. We popped them on our Christmas lists, which are now the size of a giraffe’s scarf!
We were super excited to be invited by the fine people of Cabot Circus to the VIP launch of the Bella Sorella Pop Up, run by The Only Way is Essex star Lydia Bright and her gorgeous sister, Georgia.
I must admit that when we first received the invitation I hadn’t heard of Bella Sorella but proud Essex girl Victoria immediately informed me who Lydia was! After this revelation, I wasn’t sure what to expect but Victoria was adamant that Lydia is a bit of a Queen when it comes to vintage style and after a look at the website I soon discovered her line is a veritable vintage dress heaven!
From the moment we walked through the door (next to Starbucks in Cabot Circus if you are a local) I knew I was going to want everything! I wasn’t alone as everyone in attendance seemed to be walking around and stroking all the clothes with lustful eyes. Lydia and Georgia certainly have a great eye for detail as the shop is full of beautiful, feminine shapes and styles. It’s not all about the dresses though (unbelievable, I know) as there were also lots of super cute tops, shorts and cardigans, as well as lots of lovely scented candles and other bits of homeware.
The Florence, as seen above, was my absolute stand out favorite dress! It’s part of Lydia’s own collection, Lydia Rose Bright, and the print is simply stunning! I am always such a a sucker for a 50’s shape. I think I might have to go back and get it as I can’t stop thinking about it! However, whilst I was smitten with one dress, one of the manikins was obviously very taken with me! We had a big laugh when we noticed this picture!
Jo – I was trying to channel a vintage vibe, so I dug out an old favorite Topshop dress of mine and layered it over a mustard slip from Marks and Spencer. I teamed it my navy geek shoes, also from Topshop, and my Cambridge Satchel.
It was wonderful to meet Andree from style-on-sea! Photo by Cabot Circus
Victoria – I wore one of my staple dresses, a polka dot Primark number. It’s great for any occasion. I teamed this with red ballet pumps from H&M, which are now in the sale here for £4, so I think I’ll be stocking up on some other colours. My necklace is by rachel loves bob, which we were lucky enough to receive when we went to the launch party of the Objets De Désir pop up shop (read about that here). I wore my favourite bag, my chestnut Zatchel. My glasses are from Glasses Direct.
As part of the VIP treatment we were asked if we would like to interview Lydia! Having never interviewed anyone before we nervously accepted! We needn’t have worried though as Lydia was absolutely lovely, and stunningly gorgeous to boot!
Hi Lydia! Have you had a chance to explore Bristol yet?
LB: No I haven’t! But I really want to! I’ve been down to Harvey Nics to have my makeup done so I’ve seen around there and the centre is absolutely beautiful. I came down before to have a look at the shop to make sure it was right for us but I’m looking forward to having the chance to explore a little bit more as I’ve heard you have really good shopping and nightlife! I’m staying here until Sunday so plenty of time to explore.
You’ve picked a good weekend as it’s the Harbour Festival! Bristol will be in party mode!
LB: So I’ve heard! I’ll definitely be heading down there! I’m going to find myself a sailor!
Having your own name on a clothing line is such a dream come true. How did that come about?
LB: Oh my God it’s amazing! So, first of all I got the store which was a massive dream of mine and then I do all of the buying with my sister (Georgia). We were doing all the buying and I found a niche market in that no one was doing vintage inspired for the evening – I just didn’t see anything out there and I just love off the shoulder dresses but it’s so hard to find them! So I decided I wanted to design my own collection! I met up with some manufactures and we opened a factory in London and now I design and manufacturer my own clothes! I stock at Bella Sorella but also at ASOS, New Look and Very so it’s up and up and up! I just launched my Autumn/Winter range yesterday!
What’s your favorite piece from your collection?
LB: I would say from my new collection there’s a dress called the Evangeline that comes in a really beautiful berry colour – that’s definitely one of my faves. It’s kind of a mix of my two best sellers from my previous Autumn/Winter collection so I’m sure everyone will love it. From my Spring/Summer collection I would say a dress called the Gabriella which has completely sold out. It was beautiful and had a lovely crochet neck and a ribbon to tie up the back. I have kind of recreated it in my new collection. What I try and do is take my bestsellers and then evolve on them so that everyone knows what they are getting and so that everyone likes it!
We write a fashion blog together and we wondered if you read any fashion blogs for inspiration?
LB: Yeah! I actually have my own fashion blog (check out her Youtube channel here) and I do like to read others. I like to read Zoella as she’s a Youtuber as well and I like Fashion Junkie. People always tweet me links to their blogs and I just go on them all and read them. Blogging does take up a lot of time so mine is heavily focused on pictures, I do have some writing in there too though.
We are quite awkward when it comes to having our photo taken! Do you have any posing tips for us?
LB: You have a very good shape if you put one hand on your hip and then when you want to smile pull your face up, so you don’t get a double chin, and then put your tongue to the roof of your mouth. If you then turn your head slightly down you should get a really good pose! (we then all had a little practice at this!). Oh and lots of tall girls like to cross their legs but I’m not really tall enough to do that.
Sadly for us, we asked Lydia for posing tips after all of our photos had been taken! I hope you are all prepared for a lot of hand on hip action in the near future!
Cabot Circus have put together a lovely film from the event which features the lovely Lydia and, if you look closely, you might spot a couple of familiar faces fawning over a dress.
The Cabot Circus Pop-Up is there until July 28th so Bristolians, you have two days to get your skates on and check it out! The tour has only just begun so there is ample opportunity to pay Bella Sorella a visit and if the Bright sisters aren’t coming to a town near you, the line is available online too.
Thanks again to Lydia, Georgia and the team at Cabot Circus for putting on the event! It was brilliant! A big thank you as well to Harvey Nichols for our incredible goody bag! We can’t wait to use our makeover voucher! Fingers crossed we come out looking as glam as Lydia!
The chic event was held on the top floor of House of Fraser in the luxurious 
