Unicorn Armour Purses, Fake Fur & a 3ft Flamingo- My Top 13 Picks from the New Ards' TK Maxx

TK Maxx open their first new NI store in 11 years tomorrow morning, 9am, bright and early, in Ards Shopping Centre.  

The store is in the previous Tesco location, with a huge major refit having taken place in the past few months as part of a wave of new retailers arriving at the centre. 

Smix & I went along for a nosy this evening, and here are my 13 top kitsch picks spotted in store, counted down. 

13. The Entire Halloween Department.

Halloween only started to get big here about ten years ago. We always had parties, but now the UK is swaying towards the full on, decorate the whole house, celebrate all of October, type Halloween season. I remember 8 years ago when I was just married and had a house to decorate, travelling to the big Boucher Road TK Maxx to buy their imported Halloween Homeware. Candles, ornaments, prints, cushions- of course many of the pieces were used all year round as back then I was a little more rock and roll than I am now. So skull print everything wasn't just for Halloween!  

Top choices from this year's selection of home wares? The light up signs and skulls for sure.  Those Halloween print tea towels I wouldn't be afraid of using all year round either.

12. The Stationary.

Lots of notebooks, crafting items, and down in the second pic, very cute storage pouches. 

11. Retro Bins.

We are living in a time where even a bin can be retro! I love the blue especially. 

10. A Rainbow of Blankets.

You would have a hard time choosing. They have autumnal oranges & russet tones. Beautiful teal throws and peacock blue blankets.  

9. Tiny Little Cat Shoesies.

These little felt slippers make me jealous I'm not a five year old girl. Cosy for winter or even as part of a show stopping Halloween outfit. 

8. Macarons.

So many flavours. I think these were £2.49 because I remember thinking they were prices really reasonably when I picked them up. They even had my favourite- pistachio. 

7. Kitschy Cute Bags.

I think the accessories have to be my favourite part of TK Maxx. It's where you'll most readily find something designer that you can buy without it being the same price as that month's mortgage payment. 

I thought this was a school bag, but I imagine I might get a phone call from the office if I sent in a bag with 'nice junk' on it. Doesn't stop us big kids having it for the gym or university though. 

6. Moroccan Tea Glasses.

I literally haven't seen these for sale anywhere else. They had several different designs too. I think I would feel like royalty having a cuppa in these, although I might ruin it with my tea preference for lots of sugar and milk. How uncouth! 

5. Kooky Phone Cases.

They've a good selection of Skinny Dip London cases. I discovered Skinny Dip on our last trip wandering round Soho trying to find Yo Sushi. Everything is neon, glittery, furry, sparkly, in other words- every single darn thing I love. 

4. Designer Scarves.

A designer scarf is a great accessory if, like me, you can't afford designer clothes. You could be wearing a Primark outfit but adding a fancy scarf can make you look a lil' bit more expensive.  

The new TK Maxx has your full on designer name print scarves where there's no doubt about who made it, but also more subtle but well known lines like Love Moschino's Olive Oyl prints. Both these scarves were under £50.

3. Unicorn Armour Purses.

If unicorns needed armour I bet it would look like these purses. So shiny. I want. 

2. Mega Kitsch Fake Fur Scarves.

These scarves would make any old coat look crazily cool, and they were only £9.99 each. 

1. A Three Foot Flamingo.

My top pick from the new store. A lifesize flamingo. I think I know what to ask Santa for this year now. 

But what did I buy? Well from the beauty department I picked up a Sanctuary Spa candle for £2.99

All TK Maxx store are having huge beauty events right now, so there are lots of bargains to be had. 

I couldn't resist these socks either. £3.99 for three pairs. Cats and pugs and sailors. 

My major purchase I was talked into by my little shopping buddy. 

This Little Moose satchel style handbag. RRP £50 but I got it for £29.99  

Look how cute! 

So get yourselves down in the morning to be some of the first to grab the best bargains. If you find anything particularly cool- tweet me so I can see! My username is @rudedoodle

Snixxy Swoons' Big, Chunky, Wooden Statement Jewellery That Won't Cost the Earth

I've blogged about Snixxy Swoons before, but I keep returning to her jewellery as her ideas and ranges change with the season. She's a saved search for me on eBay, and since my initial blog post about her I've bought at least two more lots of jewellery from her. And that's the beauty of her pieces, I can AFFORD to buy a few pieces thanks to her reasonable pricing. You can even make offers on her eBay listings of the price you wish to pay, and you can almost bet that she will include a little extra in your package too. Prices range from £8 to around £20 for the largest pieces.

My favourite new necklace

Her latest ranges are space inspired, and the one I loved, her classic insects, but partnered up with decorations of extra little insects on the necklace chain. I absolutely had to have one, and she kindly sent me an earth and bow tie too!  

All on eBay now

Buzzin' about this brooch

Her beautiful moths have been brought through to the spring collection. I own a brooch similar to this. 

So 'seller:misssnix2' is what you want to search eBay for, and that 100% positive feedback rating never lies. Thanks again for keeping those prices keen and ideas fresh!

My little surprise bow tie! 

Lavish Silk Scarves Without the Huge Price Tag from Charmchuri.com

Nitsha Shepherd is passionate about silk. With ten years experience in the trade, Nitsha has just launched Charmchuri, an online store with the mission of making luxurious silk scarves available at a more accessible price range for us budget-strapped fashion enthusiasts.

Nitsha models the scarves in the online store and shows you the versatility of ways to wear them

She invited me to browse CharmChuri and pick my favourite design. This was a hard task! There are at least a dozen of the vibrant, bright and beautiful scarves I would love to own. I finally settled on a huge square scarf, in autumnal colours with oceanic blue highlights. 

The print is Native American themed, it's very sweet. It makes me think of Disney's Small, Small World.

I love scarves and have quite a large collection already, but this CharmChuri one is probably the largest size I've owned. The size makes it really versatile, with tonnes of different ways to wear.  

You can see the size in relation to my foot poking in at the bottom of the photo. 

Despite the large size, due to the quality of the silk the scarf isn't bulky when you do fold it to wear. I simply folded mine inwards, twisted it and tied.

It's as well that I'm going to the hairdresser tomorrow!! 

So that was my choice, but here are some of my other favourites, modelled by Nitsha herself. You can see how tricky it was to pick a favourite. All the designs are so vivid and the colour schemes are fab. If I had to pick another scarf I'd probably go for one with the cherry blossom pink hues in its design.

There are also prints with hot pink complemented by turquoise and purple jewel tones.

If you're loving the scarves as much as me, then you'll be pleased to hear that by signing up to the CharmChuri newsletter, you get 20% off the already reasonable price. My scarf was £59, so with the discount it would be £47.20

Also worth noting there is free UK delivery with no minimum purchase price.

These would make lovely Christmas gifts should your family include any fashion lovers.  

You can connect with Nitsha on  the CharmChuri Facebook Page and check out new designs and ways to wear on the Charmchuri Instagram account.

Fall In Love With Powder's Showstopping Accessories

I featured their faux fur muffs last week, but held off sharing their other accessories because Lisa & Lesley from Powder were extremely kindly sending me some items to review.

When I opened the plain cardboard box everything arrived in, I was greeted with this; probably the most show-stopping packaging I have ever received in my six years of blogging. 

If you're buying Christmas presents for a lady in your life this year, then I'm pretty sure this is what they would love to see under the Christmas tree. In fact it's so stunning it almost looks like Christmas decor itself.  

But what lies inside this majestic, golden trimmed box?  

It holds one of  Powder's gorgeous soft felt hats. The store has a full range of designs and colour combinations to choose from. I think the prices are really reasonable. The hats are beautiful in quality and design.

But the hat wasn't all that arrived! I also had these two luxe gift bags, each sealed with a big satin ribbon. 

The first gift bag contained  Powder over the knee socks. I received the long, lace top socks in a rich mustard colour. It was Powder socks we initially found in Menary's in Bangor, where Michael saw a bright green pair that he wants to buy me for Christmas.

The little buttons on the socks are just so cute and you can see why the tag line is 'superior Scottish socks'. There's that running joke about getting socks for Christmas, but these Powder designs are pairs that you'd actually be happy about receiving on Christmas Day. 

My final gift from Powder is a pair of their  stylish gloves. Again the online store has a fantastic range of designs and colour choices, all which have a retro feel to them. I have the classic dogtooth print glove in a soft, grey felt fabric. The little button and panel design give them a vintage, driving glove look that I just love.

Powder UK is just so totally a World of Kitsch brand, so I know you all will love these accessories too. Let me know on Twitter if you buy something (@rudedoodle) and start dropping hints now if you want someone to gift you everything Powder this Christmas. 

Make Everyone Jealous of Your Amazing Muff.

On Saturdays Michael and I are making a habit and tradition of going for cake in Bob & Bert's in Menary's Bangor. I can usually get away with a quick whizz round Menarys's beauty hall and Tempest's fashion department with very little complaints from Michael, with the promise of cake ahead.

Yesterday we found a new brand in Menary's accessories department, Powder Socks. Both of us were drawn to the bright colours and quirky designs. Michael says he's going to buy me the lime green pair for Christmas.

When I got home I Googled the brand and discovered their other products. Gorgeous felt hats, ladylike gloves with a modern twist, and MUFFS.

 Powder's fake fur collection includes four cosy muffs, at £30 each. The cute little bow is so sweet. I reckon a muff would make an excellent Christmas present. It's the sort of item your always wanted, but might not buy yourself, so gifting one would be a cool idea. 

But remember! A muff is for life, not just for Christmas! 

Foxes are Out, Sugar Gliders are IN! Follow the Latest Jewellery Trends with LittleMoose.co.uk

I don't like wearing metal jewellery really, so brands like Tatty Devine, Pluck & Devour and the cutie pie Little Moose are my favourites. They sent me one of their newest designs, a sugar glider, bow tie shaped necklace in classy grey. 

Look how cute! 

Check out the whole collection on the Little Moose webstore. They've all sorts of jewellery as well as bags and accessories.

Bird Taxidermy Inspired Brooches & Hat Pins by Wendy Goode

My lovely parents-in-law bought me this splendid bullet shell & feather brooch for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I received it yesterday and I love it. It's very 'me'. I'm guessing they picked it up for me at the Dublin Horse Show, which they are just back from. One of their horses, Sox-et-set, was the overall Cob winner, so it was a great show for the Smyths.

Wendy Goode's website has dozens of feather accessories to choose from.

There are also some incredible interior items.