Ladies winter boots wishlist

Over the past week London has been a veritable winter wonderland. I'm lucky enough to live in the beautiful 'village' of Blackheath in south east London, where my flat looks out onto a vast expanse of green space and a beautiful church. We also have lovely delis, boutiques, old buildings and a weekly farmers' market on Sundays selling all manner of scrummy goodness.

Early on Saturday morning I felt like a five-year-old at Christmas, leaping out of my warm bed and snapping open the curtains within seconds, to be greeted by an endless blanket of white. Already, eager children, barely able to move under endless layers, were being dragged across the snow on plastic sleds that had been urgently purchased from the local toy shop. Meanwhile, teenage boys were rolling huge snowman heads along the ground, while their partners in crime scouted around for twigs and stones to bring their snow sculptures to life.

On Sunday, Frank and I ventured into central London to visit the National Gallery. As I pulled on layer upon layer, supplemented by scarf, coat and hat, it occured to me that the most important ingredient for this particular weather - sturdy boots - were absent from my wardrobe. Granted I have the stock calf length flat leather numbers which tend to see me through the majority of winter, but the soles are flat as a pancake. The rest of the day was spent slipping and sliding through Trafalgar Square, while clutching urgently to Frank's coat sleeve for stability.

As soon as I got the chance I rushed online and went hunting for suitable 'snow boots'. I'm not a fan of the space-age padded numbers that this weather seems to call for, and wanted to spend my money on something sturdy, comfortable but fashionable. Luckily, Brantano has a whole range of gorgeous quality boots to suit every budget, so I whipped up this wishlist of my favourites.

Clockwise from top right: Clarks Orinoco Ankle Boot (£50) | Brantano Bright Floral Wellington Boot (£22) | Skechers Keepsakes Cardigan Calf Boot (£35) | Red Level Gen Calf Boot (£38) | Wrangler Cyril hi Knee High Boot (£60), Red Level Knitted Worker Ankle Boot (£38).

My next pay cheque will definitely involve a trip online to the Brantano website I think!

Our visit itself to the National Gallery was so much fun. We went on a free tour of the gallery, learnt about five of the beautiful paintings and enjoyed a big slab of cake at the end. I've had a few health niggles recently and Frank cheered me up with this gorgeously gift-wrapped bottle of L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil - my absolute favourite (please forgive the rubbish iPhone photos). An all-round great day.